Abstract

Dynamic penetrometer testing offers considerable practical advantages over conventional ground investigation techniques; however experience with the method is very limited, and correlations with other exploratory methods have not been made available in the UK literature. The technique is much more widely used in Europe. A Swedish Dynamic Sounding apparatus is described, and some examples of the successful applications of the technique in Hertfordshire are described. Use in design of the penetration resistance values obtained from the test are hampered by the absence of a mechanical classification system for soils commonly encountered in the United Kingdom. The results of a large number of investigations in East Anglia during the period 1983–1988 have led to a tentative classification system for cohesive soil, granular soil and chalk, which may be used for correlation with geological materials in adjacent boreholes.