Seminar on

Pressure- meter Test

Department of Civil
Engineering and Environment
Birla Institute Of Technology SEMESTER: Second
Subject:-Subsurface Roll. No- MT/CE/10002/23
Mesra, Ranchi
investigation
Introduction
• Louis Menard(1933-1978) a civil engineer
innovator , inventor of pressure-meter test.
• In 1954 Louis Menard a student a Ecole
French University, set himself the goal of
developing a single test to measure
• Ultimate pressure of the Soil and
• Its deformation Modulus in order to calculate
bearing capacity and settlement.
• In 1955 he developed and filed a patent for
the device that has revolutionized
geotechnical practices.
• Success soon followed and pressure-meter
become popular in France.
• Since the 1990’s,the test has been performed
in India.
Pressure-meter
• The Pressure-meter Test is an in-situ testing method used to
determine the stress-strain response of the strata.
• The test also known as the Menard Pressure-meter Test
(MPMT) is performed by applying pressure to the sidewalls of
a borehole and recording the corresponding deformation.
• It involves drilling a borehole and placing a pressure-meter
probe to the required depth.
• The probe consists of two inflatable cells
• A measuring cell which expands as it is filled with water and
• A guard cell filled with gas which protects the measuring cell from
shocks/impacts .
• Other types of equipment – that measure change in diameter
of probe with pressure are also available in the market.
Types of Pressure-meter
Three types of pressure-meter are available
• Pre-bored Pressure-meter : It is the most
common and has a probe the is inserted into
a pre-drilled Bore hole.
• Self-boring Pressure-meter : it has a probe
that is self-bored into the ground to prevent
disturbance.
• Pushed-In Pressure-meter : It has a cone
shaped probe that is inserted into the base of
a borehole hydraulically (usually with CPT
rig).
• It displaces the soil into the cone of the probe .
• It causes less disturbance to the soil.
Borehole Preparation
• Disturbance caused by the drilling equipment along the walls of the
borehole-this is a function of drilling equipment and tools used.
• In firm to stiff clay, use rotary drilling with bottom discharge with thin bentonite
slurry circulation.
• In Soft clays below water table ,pushing thin-walled tube may give minimum
disturbance .
• In Sand, use light percussion or rotary drilling with bentonite slurry.
• Auger Boring-ok at shallow depth above water table.
• In weathered rock ,use hydraulic rotary drilling.
• In all cases ,advance casing to just above test depth so as to ensure
borehole does not collapsed and probe can be recovered after test.
• Important : Maintain correct diameter of borehole
The Pressure-meter Test
• A control unit is set up near the borehole to
pump water and gas while recording the
measurements.
• A coaxial hose connects the pressure-meter
probe to control panel
• The inner hose carries water into the measuring
cell.
• The outer hose carries gas (usually carbon
dioxide or Nitrogen) to the guard cell.
• As the pressure increases, the borehole walls
deform. The pressure is held constant for a
given period, usually 30,60 second
• And the increase of the volume at constant
pressure is recorded.
Pressure-meter Probes
• Equipment of capacity up to 200 bars is also available.
• The 80 bars equipment is suitable for hard soils and weathered rock.
• The 200 bars equipment is suitable for medium to hard rocks .
• Since bearing capacity and settlement are usually not a problem in
hard rocks, the 80 bars equipment is suitable for most applications.
• Standard diameter of probes available are AX,BX and NX.
• The popularly used diameter is NX
Pressure-meter Probes
Pressure-meter Probes
Test Methodology steps
• Air Calibration-Expand the probe in air
• Some pressure will be required to expand the membrane.
• The net pressure on soil is the difference between measured pressure and the
pressure for expansion in air for specified volume.
• Pipe Calibration-Expand probe inside a stiff steel pipe
• Since the probe will not expand in the rigid pipe, the volume change is the
expansion of the hoses.
• Volume change is corrected for expansion hoses.
• Plot pressure vs volume (field curve)
• Correct for stiffness of membrane and expansion of hoses.
• Generates the corrected pressure versus volume curve.
Test Methodology steps
Test procedure
• Calibrate probe.
• Drill bore hole of diameter as per Probe (NX/BX/AX).
• Lower probe-Test Section.
• Apply incremental pressure till limit pressure is attained .
• For each stage of loading ,record volume reading at intervals of 30 sec and 60 sec.
• Maintain differential pressure between measuring cell and guard cell to protect inner membrane
–normally , a differential pressure of 1 bars is maintained. Most inner and outer probe are quite
expensive and import from France .
• NX probe initial volume of 790 ml , can be expanded by a further 900 ml.
• Limit Pressure-Pressure at which soil/strata fails or yield.
• Modulus of Deformation
E=𝐾 ∆𝑝/∆𝑣

• Where k=constant ,function of probe characteristics

Interpretation of test results
• There are three phases of the deformation curve:
• (1) the re-establishing phase, from the origin to
point A;
• (2) the pseudo-elastic phase, from point A to
point B; and (3) the plastic phase, from point B to
point C.
After the borehole is drilled and the augers are
withdrawn, the borehole walls relax, thus reducing
the cavity volume. As the pressuremeter probe is
initially inflated, the walls of the borehole are
pushed back to their original position. Point A
marks the point at which the volume of the
borehole cavity has fully returned to its initial
position, and is given the coordinates, v0, p0.
Interpretation of test results
• The pseudo-elastic phase, the straight-line
portion of the curve between points A and B, is
dubbed so because of its resemblance to the
elastic behavior of steel or concrete.
• Point B is the point at which creep pressure
has been reached, and is given the
coordinates, vf, pf. The plastic phase begins at
point B and
• extends to point C, which is asymptotic to the
limit pressure. Point C, which is given the
coordinates vL, pL, is defined as the point
where the pressure remains constant despite
increasing volume.
Limit pressure
Net Limit Pressure
Settlement analysis
Deformation Modulus
Sample calculation
Graph provided
Extrapolated Value
Deformation Modulus
Typical test results
• Soil
Typical PMT profile soil
Typical PMT profile rock
Limit pressure vs SPT-N values in
sands
Correlation between limit pressure ,SPT and
cone
Tip Resistance for sands
Pressure-Meter Test usages
• Undrained shear Strength of Clays
• Consolidation Parameter
• In-situ Horizontal Stress
• Shallow Foundation Analysis
• Bearing Capacity
• Settlement
• Deep Foundation Analysis
• Earth Pressure at Rest
Undrained Shear Strength of clay
Consolidation parameter
In-situ horizontal stress
Shallow Foundation Analysis
Shallow Foundation Analysis
Pressure-meter -Advantages
• In-situ stress-Strain Behavior of soil and rock can be evaluated .
• Minimum Disturbance to in-situ conditions ,hence quality of results is
superior.
• More realistic behavior /analysis for open and pile foundations.
• Can determine in-situ coefficient of earth pressure at rest.
• In weathered rocks ,where core recover is poor ,pressure-meter test
is the only test which can give realistic data .
Pressure-meter -Limitation
• Test cannot be conducted in boulder strata
• In sandy strata ,extra care is required to conduct the test ,due to
borehole collapse –cost may be higher
• In Fractured rocks, the membrane may get damaged if the
membranes gets stuck between the fissures –cost of test is more