A Pluvial Deposition Method to Reconstitute Well-Graded Sand Specimens

摘要

Stationary pluviators generally use one or more sieves to spread the sand flow exiting from the hopper through one or more holes over the desired area. On the other hand, traveling pluviators do not need a sieve or mesh because in this case it is possible to move an opening or a nozzle over the area of interest. Traveling pluviators are preferable to stationary pluviators, especially in the case of well-graded cohesionless soils, because they provide more uniform specimens. However, traveling pluviators have drawbacks, specimen layering being the most relevant. This technical note illustrates an experimental procedure to reconstitute large specimens of well-graded sands using a traveling pluviator. The effects of specimen layering on mechanical soil properties became negligible with this technique as it was possible to assess performing a series of CPT tests with both a standard cone and a 20-mm cone.