1. Home
2. Publications
3. Online Library
4. Correlations between shear wave velocity obtained from PS Logging and pressuremeter test data

The pressuremeter is a versatile ground investigation equipment that is used to test any type of soil or rock in situ, quantifying in-situ stress, stiffness and strength. However, for the seismic design, the shear wave velocity up to a depth of 30 m below the foundation level is required. To determine the shear wave velocities of the soil, typically a seismic refraction survey is conducted. The seismic refraction surveys are quick and relatively inexpensive tests. However, they require the expansion of geophones which is equal to three times the depth from which information is required. So, even for a structure resting directly on the surface, to get the shear wave velocities of the strata up to a depth of 30 m depth, you must spread the geophones linearly on the surface extending to 90 m. Specially in urban environment, this can be impossible for most cases. So, one option is to conduct geophysical tests such as PS logging, but these tests are relatively expensive and time consuming, because after you drill the site investigation borehole to the desired depth, you must clean the borehole of debris and ensure it is free of obstructions. Then a casing is often necessary to ensure the stability of the borehole to provide a clean and consistent path for the shear wave signals and finally the geophones and seismic sources are installed in the borehole. Although there is little literature available, the existing studies indicate that a good correlation may exist between the E modulus determined from pressuremeter test and the shear wave velocity. In this paper case studies from various international projects have been selected where both PMT and PS logging tests have been conducted at the same boreholes providing a unique opportunity to compare the results and empirical relations between two methods. This empirical relationship correlates the Menard modulus to the shear velocity with the regression value of R² = 0.77 which is much better than previous studies regarding the parameters mentioned.

8th International Symposium on Pressuremeters (ISP2025)

Applications in Foundation Engineering