Use of the Cone Penetration Test for the Design of Piles in Permafrost

Abstract

Experience gained in recent years in performing cone penetration tests in frozen soils, both in the field and in cold room, leads to the conclusion that certain frozen soil properties needed in foundation design can be successfully determined by that test, provided suitable high-capacity, rate-controlled, cone-driving equipment is available. In addition, as shown in this paper, due to its similarity with the driven pile, the tests can be used directly for pile design in frozen soils through a scaling method which takes into account the effects of size, strain rate and temperature. The paper proposes such a design method for piles under axial load, and discusses the possibility of using the CPT data also in connection with the design of laterally loaded piles.