For Volume 1:

Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterisation 5 – Lehane, Acosta-Martínez & Kelly (Eds)
© 2016 Australian Geomechanics Society, Sydney, Australia, ISBN 978-0-9946261-1-0

CPTu
CPTu in
in Consolidating
Consolidating
For Volume 2: Soils
Soils
Rahardjo, Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterisation 5 – Lehane, Acosta-Martínez & Kelly (Eds)
Rahardjo, P.
P. P.
P.
Professor, Department of Civil©Engineering,
2016 Australian Geomechanics
Universitas Society,
Katolik Sydney, Australia,
Parahyangan, Bandung, ISBN 978-0-9946261-2-7
Indonesia
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Universitas Katolik Parahyangan, Bandung, Indonesia
Anggoro,
Anggoro, B.
B. W.
W.
Geotechnical
Geotechnical Engineer,
Engineer, PT.
PT. Geotechnical
Geotechnical Engineering
Engineering Consultant,
Consultant, Bandung,
Bandung, Indonesia
Indonesia
Wirawan,
Wirawan, A.
A.
Geotechnical Engineer, PT.
Geotechnical Engineer, PT. Geotechnical
Geotechnical Engineering
Engineering Consultant,
Consultant, Bandung,
Bandung, Indonesia
Indonesia

ABSTRACT:
ABSTRACT: The The interpretation
interpretation of of CPTu
CPTu for for normally
normally consolidated
consolidated clay clay soils
soils andand slightly,
slightly, or,
or, strongly
strongly
overconsolidated
overconsolidated soils have been published in many papers (Chen and Mayne, 1995, Lunne et al. 1997).
soils have been published in many papers (Chen and Mayne, 1995, Lunne et al. 1997). For
For
both conditions
both conditions of of soils
soils (normally
(normally consolidated
consolidated and and overconsolidated
overconsolidated clay), clay), there
there is is hydrostatic
hydrostatic porepore water
water
pressure, however
pressure, however no no initial
initial excess
excess pore
pore water
water pressure
pressure exists.
exists. Hence
Hence thethe assumption
assumption that that excess
excess pore
pore water
water
pressure due to cone penetration only is valid. In soils where consolidation is still ongoing
pressure due to cone penetration only is valid. In soils where consolidation is still ongoing which could be due which could be due
to
to natural
natural deposition
deposition of of the
the soils
soils or
or soft
soft soils
soils under
under reclamation
reclamation fill fill material,
material, the the excess
excess pore pressure still
pore pressure still
exists, which means that prior to penetration testing, the initial excess pore
exists, which means that prior to penetration testing, the initial excess pore pressure has not completely pressure has not completely
diminished.
diminished. In In this
this case,
case, the
the measured
measured excess
excess pore
pore water
water pressure
pressure shall
shall be
be interpreted
interpreted as as combined
combined existing
existing
pore
pore water pressures and the additional excess pore water pressure due to cone penetration. In
water pressures and the additional excess pore water pressure due to cone penetration. In case
case ofof testings
testings
conducted
conducted atat certain
certain interval
interval time
time such
such as as during
during thethe course
course of of consolidation
consolidation in in reclamation
reclamation area,area, then
then the
the
excess pore pressure response as well as the tip resistance and the friction ratio will
excess pore pressure response as well as the tip resistance and the friction ratio will change toward a normally change toward a normally
consolidated
consolidated condition.
condition. ThisThis paper
paper represents
represents research
research results
results of of CPTu
CPTu in in reclaimed
reclaimed soils and naturally
soils and naturally
deposited
deposited mud
mud resulted
resulted fromfrom eruption.
eruption. The The authors
authors have
have developed
developed methods
methods for for interpretation
interpretation of of these
these
combined excess pore water pressures. In the end, the methods can separate
combined excess pore water pressures. In the end, the methods can separate between the excess pore water between the excess pore water
pressure
pressure due
due to to penetration
penetration and and thethe prior
prior existing
existing porepore water
water pressure.
pressure. The The tip tip resistance
resistance in in under-
under-
consolidating
consolidating soft soils subjected to fill placement will not form a linear tip resistance (not straight line) when
soft soils subjected to fill placement will not form a linear tip resistance (not straight line) when
carefully
carefully examined and hence the interpretation were done considering the initial (remaining) excess pore
examined and hence the interpretation were done considering the initial (remaining) excess pore
pressure
pressure or
or the
the effective
effective stress
stress at
at certain
certain time.
time. The
The methods
methods have
have beenbeen proved
proved to to be
be consistent
consistent and
and hashas the
the
potential
potential for
for prospective
prospective future
future interpretation.
interpretation.

11 INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
1.1
1.1 Jakarta
Jakarta Bay
Bay Reclamation
Reclamation
The
The reclamation
reclamation worksworks now now beingbeing actively
actively
conducted
conducted are located in the Jakarta bay
are located in the Jakarta bay asas shown
shown
on
on Figure
Figure 1.1. There
There will
will bebe aa number
number of of islands
islands to
to
be
be proposed
proposed and
and implemented
implemented for for the
the development
development
of
of the
the Jakarta
Jakarta Megapolitan
Megapolitan City. City. Currently
Currently three
three
projects
projects are ongoing, the first one is north
are ongoing, the first one is north ofof Pluit
Pluit
area
area (called
(called Pluit
Pluit City)
City) with
with 22 islands
islands (E (E and
and F)F) of
of
about
about 500
500 hectares
hectares ofof land
land reclamation,
reclamation, the the Kapuk
Kapuk
Naga
Naga reclamation
reclamation works
works which
which is is on
on thethe west
west side
side
of
of the development consists of 3 islands each
the development consists of 3 islands each of
of
about
about 300
300 hectares
hectares (C,
(C, DD and
and E)E) and
and thethe New
New Priok
Priok
Port
Port (N).
(N). The
The research
research is is mainly
mainly conducted
conducted at at the
the
first
first island
island (island
(island D)D) ofof Kapuk
Kapuk Naga Naga which
which hashas
been
been completed.
completed. On On this
this reclamation
reclamation works, works, the
the Figure 1. Reclamation Plan at Jakarta Bay
use
use of CPTu for quality control has been
of CPTu for quality control has been very
very Figure 1. Reclamation Plan at Jakarta Bay
(www.tempo.co, 2015)
extensively (www.tempo.co, 2015)
extensively before
before and
and during
during reclamation.
reclamation.

363
1.2 Mud Deposit from Eruption in East Java 2 PRINCIPLE OF CPTu AND THE USE OF
CPTU FOR SOFT SOILS
Mud eruption in East Java occurred on May 29,
2006 has been well known. The mechanism of The use of CPTu (Cone Penetration Test with pore
the causes of the eruptions are still in debate, pressure measurement) has been popular in
whether triggered by the drilling or pressurised Indonesia since 1990, specially for soft soils. The
fluid reactivated by the Jogyakarta quake on May increasing use of the CPTu is due to a number of
27, 2006. The debate is more from the geological factors, such as:
point of view, and is not the main issue in this  It is handy, fast and accurate for soil profiling
report. Instead, the main objective of this paper and not depending on operators
is to discuss mainly on the results of CPTu tests  It can distinguish the soil resistance and the
recently conducted and discuss mitigation and pore pressure, hence the effective reaction of
risk reduction. the soils being measured and it can recognize
In the early days of eruption, as much as drained or undrained response of the soils
150,000 cubic meters discharge per day was  The interpretation of soil properties, although
reported, although presently only less than 5000 heavily relying on empirical correlations, are
cubic meters of the discharge is estimated. Due accurate due to many available data for
to unknown characteristics of the mud, dykes comparison and justification
were constructed to contain the mud and the  Dissipation tests can be conducted to
areas reaching 650 hectares (Sofyan, 2015, measure the permeability and consolidation
“Recent investigation of Lumpur Sidoardjo”, characteristics of the soils, which give more
internal report (unpublished) delivered during reliable data
the International Conference on Landslide and The authors have gained a lot of experience in
Slope Stability, Bali). The location of the many projects throughout the northern coast of
disaster is just in the middle of the town of Jakarta and also in many places where soft soil
Porong in the district of Sidoardjo, East Java. deposit create instability during construction and
The soil condition of the site is deep soft clays the problems of long term settlement.
which causes instability of the dykes. Some dyke
failures occurred which endangered the 3 DETERMINATION OF THE DEGREE OF
residential areas due to the flow of the mud CONSOLIDATION FROM CPTu
(Rahardjo, 2015). This paper discusses the
characteristics of the soil conditions from a Degrees of consolidation are very important in
number of drillings and CPTu tests conducted by reclamation projects to determine the readiness of
the authors for design of the replacement of the the reclaimed land. When conducting CPTu at
arterial road, west of the site and for the dyke reclamation works, there are possibilities that the
reinforcement and also in the middle of the mud. underlying soft soils are still consolidating and
Figure 2 shows the effect of mud eruption in residual excess pore pressure still exists. Method
2006. for Interpretation of degree of consolidation may
be determined by:
1. Schmertmann Method (1978)
2. Bq vs OCR Correlation (Rahardjo et al. 2015)
Schmertmann method is a method to interpret
the degree of consolidation for clay layer. The
method is very simple by using the cone resistance
(qc) from CPTu Data. Figure 3 illustrates the
interpretation of the degree of consolidation based
on Schmertmann Method (1978).

Figure 3. Interpretation of the Degree of Consolidation by

Schmertmann Method (1978)
Degree of consolidation can also be interpreted
Figure 2. Mud Eruption in East Java – causing thousands of
houses flooded
by using pore pressure ratio (Bq). The correlation

364
between Bq vs OCR was already researched by authors recommend to approximate the dissipation
Setionegoro (2013). The OCR value lower than 1.0 curves using hyperbolic function to obtain the final
basically represent the degree of consolidation. pore pressure uf. Figure 5(a) shows the meaning of
The following equation shows the correlation uf. The difference between this value and the
between Bq vs OCR. hydrostatic pressure is called the residual excess
CPTu result can be used to obtained the Bq pore pressure which can be used to calculate the
value. Then the OCR value can be obtained for degree of consolidation. Figure 5(b) illustrates the
every data Bq value by using the correlation
method and the difference of ultimate pore
(Rahardjo et al. 2015). To make the calculation
pressure, uf to the hydrostatic pressure is residual
easier the equation of the correlation is interpreted
using curve expert program. The equation that excess pore pressure due to the load. This can be
represents the correlation between Bq and OCR used for the calculation of the degree of
(modified from the results of Setionegoro, 2013) u
consolidation using the expression u z  1  t
is: 
1 where ut = uf – u0 and  = overburden pressure.
OCR 
1.2Bq  0.1
Figure 4 shows this correlation collected from ui
several data in Indonesia.
2.5

1.5 uf
u0
Bq

1
Log time
0.5 Figure 5(a) Extrapolation of dissipation test results

0 Dissipation Curve at 8.38 m t50 = 59.95 Minute

0.1 1 10 100
OCR 0.2
Figure 4. Correlation of the degree of consolidation and OCR
from Bq values of CPTu 0.18

Excess Pore Pressure Due

0.16
Excess Pore Water Pressure (MPa)

To Insertion Of CPTu Cone

4 CPTu AND DISSIPATION TEST IN
CONSOLIDATING SOILS 0.14

In soils where consolidation is still progressing 0.12

which could be due to natural deposition of the

soils or soft soils under reclamation fill material, 0.1

the excess pore pressure still exists, which means 0.08

Excess Pore Pressure

that prior to penetration testing, the initial excess Due To Fill Material
Weight

pore pressure has not completely diminished. In 0.06

this case, the measured excess pore water pressure Hydrostatic Pore Water Pressure

shall be interpreted as combined existing pore 0.04

1 10 100 1000 10000
water pressure and the additional excess pore water Log Time (Min.)

pressure due to cone penetration. Measured Extrapolated t50 u0

The excess pore pressure is substantially higher. Figure 5(b) Example of the determination of the residual
This could be due to three factors, the existence of excess pore pressure
the residual excess pore pressure which has not
dissipated, the behavior of the soil which could be 5 CPTu IN CONSOLIDATING SOILS UNDER
in the state of being more sensitive, and higher RECLAMATION IN JAKARTA BAY
overburden. The value of Bq ratio could be much The CPTu used for illustration in this paper is at
higher than 0.75 as indicated by Tanaka and island D. 2A island project (island D) is a
Sakagami (1989) as boundary of normally reclamation project near shore at Pantai Indah
consolidated soil. When the dissipation test is Kapuk, North Jakarta. The reclamation project
carried out ultimately, the pore pressure measured purpose is for land development for housing,
shall be the hydrostatic pressure related to the apartments and golf. Total area of the reclamation
ground water table, u0, however, this is not is 312 Hectares. Depth of seabed at the project site
possible due to limited time during the test. The is about 3.7 to 8.7 m bellow main sea level (MSL).
The elevation of MSL is 1.2 m pp* and the final

365
level of the area is 0.5 m pp*. The 2A island is Using the method by Schmertmann, apparently
planned to be a polder area with dyke elevation at is not easy due to the fact that the shape of the qc
6 m pp* to 9.6 m pp*. Soil condition at the project resistances of the soils are not the same then as
site is very soft soil with thickness of about 5 – 12 assumed by Schmertmann. In fact, the straight line
m. These conditions cause a settlement due to a fill as expected can not be found, instead a curved
of sand material. The reclamation was started in such as an isochrone was seen. This is understood
2012 until 2015 and the soft soil is still to be due to the fact that the middle of the soil is in
consolidating. This section discusses the a very low degree of consolidation due to its
interpretation of degree of consolidation of 2A distance from the top and bottom of the soft clay.
Island at the polder area. The location of the test A method is being proposed based on the fact that
sites is shown in Figure 6(a). The area has been the curved shape of the CPTu test results are more
divided into grid with 50 m intervals. There are too rational. It thus represents the state of the effective
many data, and for this purpose only selected stress. Near the drainage boundary the degree of
positions are discussed. The results of the tests are consolidation should be much higher due to its
shown on Figure 6(b) and Figure 6(c). proximity to the drainage layer. However, this also
shows the possibility the Prefabricated Vertical
Drain (PVD) might not work very well.
Using the Bq method, it can be seen that the
degree of consolidation of the soft clay layer varies
from 50% at the middle to about 100% at the
boundary of the drainage layer. This is logical as qc
R2-18
represents the effective stress which in turn also
R2-17

R2-16 related to the soil shear strength.

R3-13 S1-13
S0-13

6 CPTu IN MUD DEPOSIT RESULTED FROM

R3-12 S1-12
S0-12
R3-11
S0-11

MUD ERUPTION DISASTER IN EAST

R3-10

Hai Yin
S0-10
R3-9
S0-9

JAVA
R3-8
S0-8
R3-7
S0-7

GEC
R3-6
S0-6
R3-5

Based on laboratory tests west of this area, the

S0-5
R3-4
S0-4
R3-3
Ready to Removal
soils are highly plastic materials, the natural water
S0-3
R3-2
S0-2
R3-1 Surcharge
content ranges from 40 – 100 %. Generally, the
S0-1

S0-0

Not Ready to
Removal Surcharge upper part is slightly stronger showing slight
overconsolidation. However, the void ratio could
be as high as 1.5 – 3.0. Laboratory consolidation
S-6-5
tests also show that the soft soils are still
S-4-8.2 consolidating. Compressibility of the soils as
OCR
Cone resistance, qc (mPa)

0 0.2 0.4 0.6

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 measured from its compression index is very high
0 0
1
with a range of 0.5 – 1.5. This explains why
settlement is large (Soleman, 2012).
1

2 2

3 3

4 4

5 5

6 6

7 7
8 8
9
Depth (m)

Depth (m)

10 10
11 11
12 12
13 13
14 14
15 15
16 16 Figure 7. Situation at the Mud Center where CPTu were
Ū = 4/7.5 x 100%
17 Ū = 53% 17 conducted
18
CPTu tests are also conducted in the mud area.
18

19 19
20 20 Location of CPTu tests are just at the dykes and in
the middle of the mud as shown on Figure 8. Based
Figure 6(a) Hundreds of CPTu tests at grid of 50 m on insitu tests (CPTu and SPT), the soil upper
Figure 6(b) Interpretation of the degree of consolidation
based on Schmertmann Method layers are very soft with thickness of 15 – 25 m
Figure 6(c) interpretation of the degree of consolidation dominated by clays to silts and silty sands. The
based on Bq silty sands are mixed with clay. This soil condition

366
has very low bearing capacity and may cause very resistance was practically by water. In soft soils,
large settlement upon loading. The possibility of sleeve friction is practically the undrained shear
squeezing of lower soil layers are among the strength of the soils. Figure 9 shows the friction is
problems that need to be considered. Typical CPTu very low. The interpreted shear strength is in the
test results are shown in Figure 9 for the result of range of 2 – 10 kPa.
CPTu at the center of the mud.
Based on the results of the CPTu test in the mud
area, it is concluded that the mud is very deep and
still consolidating as shown from the low tip
resistance and high value of Bq. It is also shown
from the results of the dissipation tests, the excess
pore pressure is still high consisting of residual
excess pore pressure due to its own weight. A
separate plot of the excess pore pressure is
recommended by the authors to using Bq** = u2 /
qt which is more representative because it shows
the proportion of the excess pore pressure response Figure 8. Location of CPTu tests in the Mud Area
compared to its corresponding tip resistance. For
this case, the ratio of Bq** = 0.9 in the middle of
the mud which shows that 90% of the measured
Cone resistance, qc (MPa) Sleeve resistance, fs (MPa) Pore pressure, u2 (MPa) Friction ratio, FR (%) Pore pressure ratio, Bq Under shear strength, Su (kPa) OCR from Bq u2 / qc

Figure 9. Results and Interpretation of CPTu-10 at the center of the Mud

Another interesting fact is that, the initial  The use of empirical correlation for degree of
elevation of the site before mud eruption was consolidation (OCR < 1.0) as well as the
+5.00 above sea level, and the CPTu was overconsolidation ratio using Bq value is very
conducted at mud top elevation +14.00 m. usefull.
Assuming that there was no settlement, the depth  To obtain information on the proportion of
of the mud should be 9.00 m. However, down to soil resistance and pore pressure,
30 m, the CPTu shows that all penetration is in the Bq** = u2 / qt, is prospective.
mud, which means that the center of the eruption
might have settle down more than 21 m. 8 REFERENCES
Chen, B. S., Mayne, P. W., (1995), “Type 1 and 2 Piezocone
7 CONCLUSIONS Evaluations of Overconsolidation Ratio in Clays”,
Based on the data of CPTu, it is concluded : Proceeding International Symposium on Cone
Penetration Testing, Linkoping Sweden.
 The use of CPTu for investigation of the Lunne, T., Robertson, P. K. and Powel, J. J. M., (1997),
degree of consolidation and the investigation “Cone Penetration Testing in Geotechnical Practice”,
of residual pore pressure is very effective and Blackie Academic & Professional.
prospective for future use and application. Rahardjo, P.P., Anggoro, B.W., Yakin Y.A., Darmawan, H.,
(2008). “Determination of the Degree of Consolidation

367
 of Reclaimed Site on Deep Soft Mahakam Deltaic Soils
using CPTu”, Proceeding of the Fourth International
Symposium in Deformation Characteristics of
Geomaterials, IS Atlanta, 22-24 September 2008,
Atlanta Georgia, 883-889.
Rahardjo, P.P. (2015). “Mitigation and Risk Reduction for
Mud Eruption Disaster in East Java”, First Year Report,
ICL-IPL Project 195, International Consortium on
Landslides.
Setionegoro, N. (2015). “Research on the Characterization of
Consolidating Soils (in Indonesian)”, Ph.D. Dissertation
submitted to the Graduate School, Universitas Katolik
Parahyangan, Bandung Indonesia.
Tanaka, Y and Sakagami, T., (1989), “Piezocone Testing in
Underconsolidated Clay”, Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, 26(4), 563 – 567.

368