ConePlot for CPTSND

Processing and Graphing Software for CPT data acquired using CPTSND or CPTDAS

VERTEK, Quality Products Manufactured by:

Applied Research Associates, Inc.
250 Beanville Road
Randolph, VT 05060 USA
Phone: 800-639-6315
www.vertekcpt.com

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CONTENTS
Section Figure Page
1 Introduction 3
2 Opening screen 1 3
3 Program Setup 2 4
General Settings 3 4

4 Process sounding 5
Select the sounding to process 4 6
Select the channels to graph 5 7
Template Screen 6 7
Graph and List display 7&8 8
Screen Setup (tool bar) 9 9
Headers 10, 11, 12 10, 11
Custom Headers 13 11
Scale settings for graph display 14 12
Graph with ticks and logo selected 15, 16 13
Entering comments 17 15
Water table depth edit and plot example 18, 19 15, 16
Edit Data /.dat files (for .cpt files use cleanup) 20 17

5 Processing Dissipation tests 18

Selecting Dissipation test 21 & 22 18
Linear & Logarithmic plots 23 & 24 19
Dissipation list function 25 20
Dissipation edit function 26 21

6 Processing Seismic tests 22

Waterfall display 27 23
Individual strike display/edit screen 28 23
Waterfall with arrival times picked 29 24
Creating velocity file 30 24
Adding velocity file to plot 31-34 25-27

7 Verification plot (when so equipped) 35 28

8 Process Video (to follow)

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VTK SERIES

1. Introduction

The VERTEK division of Applied Research Associates Inc., is proud to announce the
release of this updated version of ConePlot for CPTSND. This version encompasses far
greater flexibility in plotting and provides more options for a wide range of needs.

2. Opening Screen

Figure 1 shows the opening screen. There are five types of tests that Coneplot can
plot/process: cone soundings, pore pressure dissipations, seismic tests, video, and cone
verifications. To plot/process a test, press the appropriate button listed in the middle of the
screen.

Figure 1

If Coneplot is being started for the first time, enter program set up and select general
settings.

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3. Program Setup

The program setup screen is shown in figure 2.

Figure 2

The Channel Units/Formats tab allows users to set different units and formats on the
graphs and on the different export options available in the LIST function.
The various print settings allow user to customize each type of report with different
styles and configuration of the headers and associated information with different
looks available for plots and list with the same data. This will be covered later in this
manual.

Figure 3

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Following is a brief explanation of the fields and how to set them up:

Title / Name Designed to input users name onto reports generated for clients

Default System ConePlot can plot files from either VTK series (.dat) or HT series
(.cpt) systems. Select the proper system here. This will limit searches for files to those that
are the desired type.

Default Depth Units Select either meters or feet

Soil Density Normally set at 100, 110, or 120 lbs/cu ft. (this can be changed to suit
local conditions)

Net Area Ratio All Vertek cones are designed with 0.80 net area ratio

Suppress Duplicate Depths Suppresses plotting of duplicate depth entries in data files

Duplicate Depth Tolerance Defines the distance minimum for duplicate

Suppress Not Connected Channels keeps not connected channels from displaying in
LIST function

SBT Graph Brightness Factor Allows adjustment of colors on graph (some pdf writers do
not provide the expected color response for the soil behavior type graphing)

Remove Rod Breaks YES / NO Yes will automatically remove obvious rod spikes. No
will allow user to remove them manually. This only works for .dat files (VTK series)

Rod Break Threshold Greatly reduces rod change spikes caused by the release of
pressure when adding rods. Best results are found with smaller settings.

Select / Remove Logo Opens a browser window to allow searching for a jpg Logo file to
insert / and allows Logo to be removed easily.

LOGO SCALE FACTOR Enables Logo size changes on plot

Click OK to return to main screen.

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4. Process Sounding

Selecting Processing Option, Process Sounding, will open a browser window.

Navigate to the directory the test files are saved in and select the appropriate test.
Note that the system setting in general settings limits the file types seen on screen.

Figure 4

Click open

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 Figure 5

ConePlot imports the data file and displays the channels available to process or
display. Additional file data can be added to this list by clicking on ADD DATA in
the tool bar and browsing to a compatible file. See section 6 for a seismic example.
Fig 5 shows the automatic selection that was chosen in a template.

Highlight the channels desired for graphing and click on template to save the settings
so that each sounding can be presented the same way if desired. Clicking again on
channel will unselect it. Graphs are arranged in the order selected. Select Plot to
display a graphical view of the data selected. See Fig 7. Selecting List will provide
the results shown in Fig 8. Selecting EDIT will be discussed later.

Figure 6 shows the template save/selection screen.

Figure 6

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This provides the initial graphical plot on the screen with the parameters chosen in the
previous step.

Figure 7

Figure 8

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 Figure 9

Across the top of the plot screen (Figure 9) there are tabs to PRINT, to access the
PRINT SETTINGS , to change the SCALE for each graph or depth, to add or remove
GRID lines to the display, to change the DEPTH UNITS (feet or meters), to change
the DEPTH FORMAT from normal to elevation, to input a WATER TABLE depth
(to change the hydrostatic blue line, to access the REMOVE ROD BREAKS function
or to RETURN to previous screen.

PRINT The same as any program, provides user with available print options. CPT
graphs usually print best to PDF so they can be used electronically in reports. Not all
PDF printers are created equally! This software may not work with some free pdf
printer options available and some older versions of pdf printers may need to be
updated.

PRINT SETTINGS or SCREEN SET UP (Headers)

The Screen setup can be modified to three different styles (header layouts) by
entering into print settings. Print settings can be accessed from this screen or from the
initial screen under Program setup.

See Figure 10 -12 for screen shots of the three styles available for this function. The
drop down boxes allow arranging the multiple available fields in sequences to suit
individual requirements. This information primarily is entered in each individual test
set up for this purpose.

Note that the logo selection can be used as a small header field or as watermark. To
change the intensity of the watermark logo requires altering the jpg file imported.
This program does not have the capability to change the image.

The upper section of this screen is for the appearance of the LIST headers and the
lower section is for the appearance of the PLOT headers. In the plot section on the
right side of the screen are some alignment and display options to allow for
customizing the view to suit individual preferences.

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 Figure10

Figure 11

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 Figure 12

Figure 13

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Custom header selections (Figure 13) are choices in all of the drop downs for the
various fields that can be used in CONEPLOT. These custom headers are designed to
allow more user control over the use of the fields available. Three sample
customizations shown in Fig 13.

SCALE Other changes can be made to the appearance of the plot screen using the
SCALE tab (see fig 14) in the DEPTH PLOT screen tool bar. Notice that this plot
has auto-scaled during the plot, but scaling can be changed here. The min can be set
to less than zero should it be necessary to display readings that indicate negative from
the baseline taken; and that max can be set to allow for uniform scaling when
required. Minor ticks can be checked to provide more scale marks on the selected
channels for enhanced interpretations but this may make the graph too cluttered.
Load Scale and Save Scale at the top of this page make it a simple matter to have
multiple tests in one project be plotted on the same scale for uniformity.

Figure 14

Figure 15 shows a depth plot with minor ticks selected and with print logo on first
page

Figure 15 & 16 are displayed using HEADER STYLE 1 and PRINTOUT STYLE 2

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Figure 15A is the same but using logo selection watermark.

Figure 15

Figure 16

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Notice that in PRINTOUT STYLE 2 there is a remarks column and the add
comments tab ( Figure 16) at the top allows user to enter text to apply to any depth
chosen

Fig 17

Figure 18

Water Table depth can be manually entered on the plots with the screen on fig 17.
This will place a blue line on the plot at the depth entered and this hydrostatic plot
line will increase with depth. See updated plot (fig 19) below with an arbitrary water
table of 12 feet selected.

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 Figure 19

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EDIT DATA

The remaining Depth Plot tab is EDIT DATA (Figure 20). This feature allows for
user editing of raw data to remove errors or make other corrections required. This
edited data should always be saved as a different file name to prevent loss of original
data.
NOTE: HT file (*.cpt) editing still requires use of DIGITAL CLEANUP and Edit
Data tab is not shown when processing .cpt files.

Figure 20

With this tool it is possible to correct minor errors in a sounding (such as rod change
data spikes or an incorrect baseline). Data can be massaged at a specific depth or for
an entire column.
Original data files should always be maintained. It is highly recommended to save
any changed files with new file names.

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5/ Processing Dissipations

Clicking on Process Dissipation(s) will bring up a file selection screen

Figure 21

Again, the file types displayed are limited by the system selected and to dissipation
files. Once a file is selected the following screen appears.

Figure 22

Click on the depth desired to plot and click on PLOT SELECTED. One or all of the
depths can be selected (multiples will be displayed on the same graph with different
colors. The next two figures show the two styles of plot - Linear / Logarithmic.

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 Figure 23 - Linear plot

Figure 24 - Logarithmic plot

( NOTE: This manual is not intended to provide details on the meaning of the data,
just to familiarize the operator with the software capability.)

Figure 25 below shows the appearance of the list function (in the drop down is shown
two options for the data, save as .txt or export as .csv. Or the data can be printed.

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 Figure 25

Should it be necessary to edit the dissipation data this can be done by clicking EDIT
(ALL) on the available dissipation screen (see figure 26)

The Select Dissipation Depth lets you edit any of the test depths shown on the main
screen. This depth reading can be manually changed here by using the edit depth
button. As always, if the data is changed, it is strongly recommended to rename the
new file so the original data is never lost.

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 Figure 26

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6/ PROCESSING SEISMIC Test plots

Click on the PROCESS SEISMIC option and select the test to be processed (same
procedure as for dissipations and soundings). Any test in Mode 1 with multiple
depths will then display a waterfall plot like figure 27 below.

Figure 27

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Each depth can then be highlighted one at time to enhance the visible arrival wave
and choose an arrival time. Click on the arrival wave you are going to set and, using
the mouse, set the cross mark where you want it with a left click. Alternately, the
arrival time mark can be snapped to the peak by dragging the mark close to the top
and then using shift and left click. If used on all the depths on the same wave form
this will ensure consistent placement of the arrival mark. The zoom box in the upper
corner is helpful on noisy or bumpy waves and simply provides a visual of the detail.
Shown in figure 24 is an arrival time at the peak of the largest A strike wave.

Figure 28

It is then a simple matter to click previous graph to enhance the view, and select the
similar point for arrival times and repeat until the top test is reached (fig 29)
The buttons on bottom right of this screen allow the wave to be enhanced and filtered
for best appearance. Since seismic tests for CPT are designed for arrival time
information (to determine individual layer composition) the software allows user to
make the waves more pronounced so that arrival times can be determined more
consistently from surface to completion of test.
Many users will start near the bottom of the waterfall and process up to ensure good
arrival time determinations. Clicking outside of the box shown on fig 28 will return to
the waterfall, or simply click on previous or next test.

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Figure 29 shows the waterfall with all arrival times selected

Figure 29

At this point a velocity profile can be generated by clicking File, then Generate
Profile and then selecting velocity. (see figure 30)

Figure 30

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The velocity profile will save as a *.vss file. It is recommended to save it in the
same directory the seismic files are in and to name it referencing the particular CPT
test name. To put the velocity profile into the CPT plot simply click Add Data in the
tool bar (figure 31) and select the CPT test associated with the velocity profile

Figure 31

As seen below in figure 32 when named the same as the CPT test the profile is easy to
find. Click on open and the profile then becomes another option on the processing
selection.

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 Figure 32

Figure 33

This can then be plotted on the standard graph along with tip, sleeve, pore pressure
etc. See figure 33 & 34

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 Figure 34

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7/ Verification

Data obtained with the CPT SND verification program and independent load cells can
be gathered here and printed for record keeping purposes as some clients have
requirements for verification documentation.

Select Process Verification on the main screen and select the *.vrf file to be
processed. (as with other files, these can be opened in notepad and exported as text)
Figure 31 shows the tip screen of the selected vrf file (note that the pore pressure tap
is greyed out- this indicates that the pore pressure verification data was not saved in
this example. There is no other processing in ConePlot for this, just the choice to
print all or current page.

Figure 35

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Parameter Description Symbol / Equation Reference
Depth Depth of the
centroid of the
sensor
Elevation Elevation of Ground Surface - Depth
centroid of the
sensor
Sleeve Stress Sleeve Stress fs
interpolated to
the depth of the
tip
Tip Stress, Measured Tip qc
Uncorrected Stress
Tip Stress, Tip Stress,
qt q c u 2 1 a
Corrected corrected for
probe geometry
Friction Ratio Friction Ratio fs
Rf 100%
qt
Pore Pressure Measured Pore u2
Pressure
Inclination X Measured
probe
inclination in
the X axis
Inclination Y Measured
probe
inclination in
the Y axis
Resistivity Measured Soil
Resistivity
Soil Behavior Soil Behavior SBT Lunne,
Type Type Options Roberson
Rf and Powell,
Robert 1997,
son Figures 5.7
1986 and 5.8
Bq
Rober
son
1986
Fr
Robert
son
1990
Bq
Robert
son
1990
Classification Frank
Index Ic 1.95 log10 Qt 2 log10 Fr 1.782 Syms,
Bechtel
Corporation
Overburden n
v hi
i 1
Effective ' v vo u o
Overburden

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Normalized qt vo Lunne,
Tip Stress Qt Roberson
' vo and Powell,
1997,
Equation
5.4
Parameter Description Symbol / Equation Reference
Normalized fs Lunne,
Friction Ratio Fr Roberson
qt vo and Powell,
1997,
Equation
5.5
Normalized u Lunne,
Pore Pressure Bq Roberson
qt vo and Powell,
1997,
where u u 2 u o Equation
5.6
Over 1.42 InSitu 86,
u
Consolidation OCR 0.33 Mayne
Ratio ' vo Equation 8,
pg. 789
Undrained q c vo Lunne,
Shear Su Roberson
Strength Nk and Powell,
1997,
where N k 15 Equation
5.16
Friction 180 Robertson
qc
Angle arctan 0.38 log10 0.1 and
vo Campanella,
1988, pg.
94.

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 EQUATION USED TO CALCULATE SPT

Reference(s):

Equation:
if (SBT = 1, 5 or 12) SPTRAT = 2.00
if (SBT = 2, 3 or 11) SPTRAT = 1.00
if (SBT = 4) SPTRAT = 1.50
if (SBT = 6) SPTRAT = 2.50
if (SBT = 7) SPTRAT = 3.00
if (SBT = 8) SPTRAT = 4.00
if (SBT = 9) SPTRAT = 5.00
if (SBT = 10) SPTRAT = 6.00

qt
N 60
SPTRAT

1 .0
N 60 Cor N 60

ve
Where:
SBT = Soil Behavior Type (Friction Ratio, Robertson 1986)
SPTRAT = SPT Ratio (used in calculation)
Qt = Corrected Tip Stress (tsf)
ve = Overburden (tsf)

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