An analytical investigation of soil disturbance due to sampling penetration

It is well known that the quality of sample significantly determines the accuracy of soil parameters for laboratory testing. Although sampling disturbance has been studied over the last few decades, the theoretical investigation of soil disturbance due to sampling penetration has been rarely reported. In this paper, an analytical solution for estimating the soil disturbance due to sampling penetration was presented using cavity expansion method. Analytical results in several cases reveal that the soil at different location along the sample centerline experiences distinct phases of strain during the process of sampling penetration. The magnitude of induced strain is dependent on the position of the soil element within the sampler and the sampler geometry expressed as diameter-thickness ratio <i>D</i>/<i>t</i> and length-diameter ratio <i>L</i>/<i>D</i>. Effects of sampler features on soil disturbance were also studied. It is found that the induced maximum strain decreases exponentially with increasing diameter-thickness ratio, indicating that the sampling disturbance will reduce with increasing diameter or decreasing wall thickness of sampler. It is also found that a large length-diameter ratio does not necessarily reduce the disturbance. An optimal length-diameter ratio is suggested for the further design of improved sampler in this study.