LAUSR

This paper presents the development and use of a new 10-mm-diameter miniature cone penetrometer which can measure separately the tip and sleeve resistance in laboratory-prepared soil beds. This cone penetrometer is relatively easy to make and costs significantly less than few other commercial penetrometers, which otherwise are usually large and yield inaccurate results due to boundary effects. Application of this cone penetrometer was examined by performing tests on clay and sand beds. A good agreement was obtained between the theoretical and back-calculated cone factor in clay. The tip resistance was equally sensitive to the relative density in the case of sand and could be well correlated with the mobilised friction angle. The advancing cone was enabled to detect from a distance, the upcoming interface between layers of two different relative densities.