British experience with the self-boring pressuremeter

The optimum position of the cutter of a soil pressuremeter is discussed and experience gained in geotechnical engineering applications are reviewed emphasizing the use of the instrument for the measurement of the shear modulus of the ground. The effects of the cutter position on the degree of disturbance of the ground being bored is analyzed, showing that an adjustment of the rotative cutter position relative to the sharp cutting edge of the cylindrical container minimizes ground disturbances. Use of the instrument in clay and sand soils is detailed. Measurements of the shear modulus together with the effective lateral stress are obtained for finite element computations in realistic models of soil behavior.