ISO/TC 182/WG 8 - Borehole expansion tests

This document is applicable to the borehole shear test using the phicometer procedure, commonly named the phicometer test (etymologically derived from phi for friction angle, co for cohesion and meter for measurement). The test can be performed in all types of natural soils, fills and artificial soils, which can be saturated or not. It does not apply to very soft fine soils, very loose coarse soils, medium strong to very strong rocks and natural or artificial soils with a predominance of cobbles having a particle diameter greater than 150 mm. Generally, the test is applicable in soils with an order of magnitude of their in situ resistance characteristics as follows: - Ménard pressuremeter limit pressure: 0,4 MPa lM - CPT Cone resistance: 1,5 MPa - SPT N: 8 The test can also be carried out in soils presenting a resistance outside these application limits as long as the representativeness of the results is assessed or validated by the analysis of the PBST graphs (see Clause 8). This document applies only to tests carried out at a depth less than or equal to 30 m. The parameters derived from this test are the shear strength properties, as the cohesion and angle of friction.

This document is applicable to pressuremeter tests using cylindrical flexible probes placed in pre-existent boreholes using testing procedures other than the Menard procedure. Pressuremeter tests following the Menard procedure are provided in ISO 22476-4. NOTE A high-pressure flexible pressuremeter probe which contains transducers for the measurement of radial displacements is also known as flexible dilatometer probe or high-pressure dilatometer probe. This document applies to tests performed in any kind of grounds, starting from soils, treated or untreated fills, hard soils and soft rocks, up to hard and very hard rocks, either on land or offshore. The parameters derived from this test can include stiffness, strength, initial in-situ stress state and consolidation properties.

This document specifies equipment requirements, the execution of and reporting on the Ménard pressuremeter test. This document describes the procedure for conducting a Ménard pressuremeter test in natural grounds, treated or untreated fills, either on land or off-shore. The pressuremeter tests results of this document are suited to a quantitative determination of ground strength and deformation parameters. They can yield lithological information in conjunction with measuring while drilling performed when creating the borehole (according to ISO 22476-15). They can also be combined with direct investigation (e.g. sampling according to ISO 22475-1) or compared with other in situ tests (see EN 1997-2).