Correlations for Engineering Properties of Fine-Grained Soils Using SPT-N Values: Insights from Geotechnical Practices in Bangladesh

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-884-4_26How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Fine-Grained Soils; Undrained Shear Strength; SPT-N; Correlations; Reliability

Abstract

The Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is a cost-effective and versatile in-situ test widely used for geotechnical site investigations. However, reliability is often affected by regional soil characteristics, equipment variations, and testing methods. In Bangladesh, where fine-grained soils predominate and growing infrastructure requirements are increasing, improving SPT correlations is crucial to ensure accurate and economical foundation design. This study focuses on refining the empirical SPT-N correlations to enhance the prediction of key geotechnical properties such as undrained shear strength for local cohesive soils. The research includes evaluating existing SPT-based empirical equations from various studies, comparing predicted values with laboratory test results, and developing new correlations tailored to local conditions. Corrected SPT-N values are used to improve the accuracy of predictions. Laboratory data from unconfined compression (UC) and unconsolidated undrained (UU) triaxial tests were analyzed to identify relationships of undrained shear strength parameter (apparent cohesion) with SPT-N values. Results of different statistical analyses have been presented in appropriate graphical formats. The result of this study showed deviations from the standard correlation reported in previous studies. This variation is primarily attributed to obtaining very low-quality undisturbed soil samples due to limitations in sampling equipment and relatively less prioritizing in conventional geotechnical investigation. Such problems, evidenced by field records, lead to inconsistencies, particularly in fine-grained soils, and make it difficult to directly apply standard empirical equations. By addressing the importance of collecting good quality undisturbed soil samples, this research aims to improve the reliability of geotechnical investigation for foundation design in Bangladesh.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Jabed Omar
AU  - Md Tareq Rahman
AU  - Md Ferdous Alam
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/11/18
TI  - Correlations for Engineering Properties of Fine-Grained Soils Using SPT-N Values: Insights from Geotechnical Practices in Bangladesh
BT  - Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Engineering Research, Innovation, and Education 2025 (ICERIE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 214
EP  - 221
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-884-4_26
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-884-4_26
ID  - Omar2025
ER  -