Design of a free-fall penetrometer for geotechnical characterisation of saturated sediments and its geological application [Elektronische Ressource] / Sylvia Stegmann

Design of a free-fall penetrometer for geotechnical characterisation of saturated sediments and its geological application Doctoral Thesis Submitted for the doctoral degree in natural sciences at the Faculty of Geosciences of Bremen University Zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Naturwissenschaften im FachbereichGeowissenschaften der Universität Bremen byvorgelegt von Sylvia Stegmann Bremen, September 2007 AbstractAbstract Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) is a versatile, time efficient method to characterise sediment strength and pore pressure in offshore settings and on land. The majority of the penetrometers rely on heavy trucks or rigs to provide the necessary force to push the CPT probe into the ground. This laborious process usually deforms or otherwise affects the uppermost deposits, whose physical properties are in turn vital to understand processes related to scour, burial of mines, cable or pipeline laying, silting of water ways and harbours, or sediment transport and remobilisation. Owing to the shortcomings of heavy seagoing CPT gear, this thesis aimed to develop and use a cable-led marine penetrometer lance which profiles the uppermost sediments in a less destructive manner. The study summarises the development and deployment of a marine cone penetrometer system.