ANDINA UNIVERSITY NESTOR CACERES VELASQUEZ

“PROFESSIONAL ACADEMIC CAREER IN CIVIL ENGINEERING”

(PDC)
DYNAMI
C CONE
PENETR
ATION

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“PROFESSIONAL ACADEMIC CAREER IN CIVIL ENGINEERING”

I.- OBJECTIVE
1.1.- GENERAL OBJECTIVES

 Interpret, describe and analyze the reliability of in situ CBR values of the
subgrade using the PDC (Dynamic Cone Penetration) method within the
UANCV university city of the city of Juliaca.

1.2.- SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

 It allows you to easily carry out an investigation of the soil layers, granular
and slightly seeded, components of a pavement during its construction or in
its service stage.
 Carry out soil exploration using the cone deniamic penetration equipment
 See if PDC testing is a non-destructive method that can be used to indirectly
prevent the structural capacity of a pavement.
 Determine the in-situ mechanical properties of the study soil

II.- REGULATORY REFERENCE

 Standardization of ASTM D6951 (03) USA

 Normalization of INVE172 (07) Colombia
 MOPT/GTZ Costa Rica Standardization
 Normalization in Peru

III.- CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

DEFINITION:

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The DCP was developed in 1956 by Scala; Studies carried out in the field by
Livneh and Ishali (1987) and Kleyn (1975) have been basic for the evaluation of
pavements. Subsequently, its use has spread in England, Australia, Canada,
New Zealand and the United States.

This instrument is essentially used to evaluate the resistance of both

undisturbed and compacted soils and estimate a CBR value in the field. Unlike
the latter, the DCP has advantages such as its simplicity and economy of use.
Implicitly, the DCP estimates the structural capacity of the different layers that
make up a pavement, simultaneously detecting the degree of heterogeneity that
can be found in a section and the compaction uniformity of the material, in a
rapid, continuous and quite precise manner.

It allows you to easily carry out an investigation of the granular and slightly
cemented soil layers, components of a pavement during its construction or in its
service stage.

The PDC equipment measures the penetration per blow through the different
component layers of a pavement. This penetration is a function of the IN SITU
shear resistance of the materials of the structural package. The depth profile
therefore provides an indication of the in-place properties of the materials of the
different component strata in the actual conditions in which they are found at
the time of the test.

The PDC test is a destructive method that can be used to indirectly evaluate the
structural capacity of a pavement.

This practice seeks to determine the mechanical properties of the soil through
the dynamic cone penetration test. Although initially this was planned in order to
determine the CBR of a soil in road construction. In recent years, research has
been carried out that seeks to correlate the values obtained from this test with
the cut resistance parameters.

ADVANTAGES:

 Easy operation

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 Economic
 Ease of transportation

DISADVANTAGE:

 Shallow depth

Figure 1 - Diagram of the DCP Equipment (ASTM D-6951-03).

PDC curve

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Graph that represents the accumulated penetration based on the number of

accumulated blows for the respective data. In this type of curves, as shown in
Fig. 2, the number of existing layers represented by lines of different slopes can
be made visible, the thickness of said layers can also be determined.

Figure 2 - DCP curve for a series of values, three different layers are observed.

Structural Diagram

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Figure 3 - DCPs structural curves, for light, medium and heavy traffic (Transvaal
Roads Department-TPA, 1978).

IV.- APPLICATION OF THE PDC

The application of the Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (PDC) was carried out on the
different interdistrict roads and the fence of each District of the Province of Ica; when
carrying out the test at each point we obtained slope data (N, D or DC) in mm/strokes
with which, according to any formulation, the CBR value in situ can be obtained, but in
this case the slopes obtained will serve to correlate slopes (N) with the CBR values in
situ, data of type of soil (a sample is taken to the laboratory and classified), a sample is
also taken for natural humidity, in a large number of inspections a subgrade composed
of aeolian sand has been found, another large number of tests have also been carried
out on sandy soil. silty and with humidity below optimal levels for compaction.

NOTE:
 If a rejection occurs during driving, the presence of large particles or a rock
layer can lead to suspension of the penetration or bending of the rod of the
device, if after 5 blows the device has not advanced more than 2mm (0.08 ")
or the handle has deflected more than 75mm (3") from its vertical position,
the test must be stopped and the equipment must be removed to another

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test point. The location of the new test point must be at least 300mm (12”)
from the previous location, to minimize the error caused by the disturbance
of the material.

V.- MATERIALS
a).- natural terrain

b).- compacted ground

VI.- EQUIPMENT AND/OR TOOLS

 8kg dynamic cone penetrometer.
Device to evaluate the resistance of
unaltered and/or compacted soils
The Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (PDC) was
originally invented, designed and tested in
Australia in 1956 (9) by OlderSwiss and consisted
of a 9 kg (20 lb) hammer, and a 508 mm drop.
(20 inches), and a rod with a 30° cone tip to
introduce the various layers of the soil, Van
Vuuren worked in New Zealand in 1969 and
later; that non-destructive testing of an
empirical nature; was developed with great

He worked in South Africa in the 1970s and

1980s, and was introduced to the international
community in Europe in 1982-1983 with the
works of Kleyn, Savage, Maree, Van Heerden,
and Rossouw; By then some modifications had been proposed as follows: the hammer
was changed to a weight of 8 kilos, drop height of 575 mm and the conical tip at 60°.

Figure 4: Shows the PDC instrument tested in South Africa

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Since then the physical characteristics have not undergone substantial changes, the
research reports have always specified and detailed the instrument used and this has
served

to practically standardize the physical appearance of the equipment, even more so now
that it has been standardized by the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) since
2003. Currently, ASTM has already reviewed and corrected the 2003 standard and is
publishing the updated ASTM standard. D6951 M(09), the different countries that proceed
to standardize this equipment with the technical standards of their country do so based on
the ASTM D6951 (03) standard, it has generally been observed without any modification,
such as Colombia with its standard. INV E 172 (07), Costa Rica with its MOPT/ GTZ
standard, among others, so it is convenient to know in detail the characteristics of the PDC
standardized by the ASTM.

Figure 5: Shows the PDC equipment with its wooden

cases

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Figure 6: Shows details of the PDC

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Figure 7: Shows details of the hammer and parts of

the PDC

 guide shaft
 Millimeter ruler (graduated bar)

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VII.- PROCEDURES
 Once the test site is located, the PDC equipment is placed vertically on a
level of ground where it will not directly encounter stones that would
hinder the test.
 When starting the test with the penetrometer, the cone is introduced,
settling it at the bottom to guarantee that it is completely confined.
 The operator directs the tip of the PDC into the ground, raising the slide
hammer to the handle and releasing it for a given number of blows. It is
measured and recorded in terms of millimeters per blow, a value that is
used to describe the stiffness, to estimate a resistance. In-situ CBR
through appropriate correlation or to establish other material
characteristics.
 To take the readings, it has a measuring ruler attached to the instrument
by two supports, an upper support attached to the anvil that serves as a
reference for the readings and a lower support fixed to the ruler and
attached to the penetration bar.

VIII.-FORMULA
Relationship between Equation author Observations
PDc ((mm/gol) and.

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Liquid limit (%) ¿=0.62∗log ( PDC ) −1.14 Gabr. M. et al. Soil with high
(2001 fines content
(60%)

California Support 292 Van Vuren For all types of

C . B . R .=
Value PDC (1968), floors

Kleyn (1975)

Resilient modulus MR=537.76∗PDC Chen D, et al For bases and

(Mpa) (2005) sub bases

Unconfined Mceivaney
log ⁡(UCS)=3.29−0.809∗log ⁡(PDC) Soils with silt
compression (Kpa) and Djatnika
(1991)

IX.- CALCULATIONS
 PENETRATION (MM):

305mm-312.5mm=7.5mm………………(1)
312.5mm-321mm=8.5mm……………….(2)
 HIT PENETRATION (P/G)

p/g(1)=7.5mm/1=7.5 mm/stroke
p/g(2)=8.5mm/2=4.25mm/stroke
 PDC
PDC factor: for 8kg dual mallet = 1

PDC factor: for 4.6kg mallet =2

In this case we use the 8kg mallet = 1

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PDC(1)=7.5mm*1=7.5mm
PDC(2)=4.25mm*1=4.25mm
 CBR
To calculate the CBR, the following formulas are used according to the type of soil:

a. For inorganic clay soils with low plasticity CL are CBR < 10
1
C . B . R .=
( 0.017019∗PDC ) e 2 ¿
¿

b. For inorganic clay soils with high plasticity CH.

1
C . B . R .=
0.002871∗PDC

c. For other types of soils (granular, sand, gravel).

292
C . B . R .=
( PDC ) e 1.12

In our case we will use FOR OTHER SOILS

292
C . B . R . ( 1 )= =30.57
( 7.5 ) e 1.12

292
C . B . R . ( 2 )= =57.75
( 4.25 ) e 1.12

d. Average CBR

C . B . R . promedio=CBR ( 1 ) +CBR ( 2 )+ … … … ..CBR ( n )

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X.-DATA OBTAINED IN THE FIELD:

NUMBE PDC
R OF READING
BLOWS (mm)

0 305

1 312.5

2 321

3 335

4 356

5 375

6 415

CALCULATIONS:
The difference of the lengths obtained will be made in order to calculate the
depth that was achieved with the PDC test:
 0
 305-312.5=7.5mm
 312.5-321=8.5mm
 321-335=14mm
 335-356=21mm
 356-375=19mm
 375-415=40mm

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Then we proceed to calculate the HIT PENETRATION ratio (P/G):

7.5
 1
=7.5

8.5
 2
=4.25

14
 3
=4.67

21
 4
=5.25

19
 5
=3.8

40
 6
=6.67

To calculate the PDC, the factor for 8kg =1 will be used

 PDC(1)=7.5*1=7.5
 PDC(2)=4.25*1=7.5
To calculate the CBR, the formula for other types of soils will be used
because they have soils with the presence of sand:
292
C . B . R .= 1.12
(PDC)

292
C . B . R . ( 1 )= =30.57
( 7.5 )1.12

Then we proceed to add the last column to average and thus find the CBR
value of the soil on which we worked:
C . B . R . promedio=CBR ( 1 ) +CBR ( 2 )+ … … … ..CBR ( n )

Below is the PDC FORMAT filled out with all the calculations obtained:

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TEST N°1

NUMBE PDC PENETRATION HIT PDC CBR

R OF READING (mm) PENETRATION
BLOWS (mm) (P/G)

0 305 0 0 0 0

1 312.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 30.57

2 321 8.5 4.25 4.25 57.75

3 335 14 4.67 4.67 51.97

4 356 21 5.25 5.25 45.58

5 375 19 3.8 3.8 65.47

6 415 40 6.67 6.67 34.86

Average 47.70%
CBR

XI.- GRAPH

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N° DE GOLPES
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

-5

-10
PENETRACION (mm)

-15

-20

-25

-30

-35

-40

-45

CONCLUSIONS

It was possible to interpret, describe and analyze the reliability of the in situ CBR
values of the subgrade using the PDC (Dynamic Cone Penetration) method within the
UANCV university city of the city of Juliaca.

The investigation of the granular and slightly seeded soil layers, components of a
pavement during its construction or in its service stage, was carried out in a simple
way.

Soil exploration was carried out satisfactorily using dynamic cone penetration
equipment.

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It was possible to see that the PDC test is a non-destructive method that can be used
to indirectly avoid the structural capacity of a pavement.

It was possible to determine the in-situ mechanical properties of the study soil.

RECOMMENDATIONS

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 In order to carry out the PDC (Dynamic Cone Penetration) test, it is

recommended not to carry out the test on soils with the presence of rocks since
these could damage the equipment, which is why the site where said test will be
carried out must be changed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Concrete and Asphalt Soil Mechanics Laboratory Guide.

 http://civil.upb.edu/files/2010/11/EL-CONO-DIN%C3%81MICO-DE-
PENETRACI%C3%93N-Y-SU-APLICACI%C3%93N-EN-LA-EVALUACI%
C3%93N-DE-SOILS.pdf
 Wikipedia.

ANNEXES

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