ANALYSIS OF CONE RESISTANCE - REVIEW OF METHODS

Cone tip resistance is the most widely measured quantity in the cone p enetration test. A brief review is made of presently available theorie s for the analysis of cone resistance. The theories are presented in f arms that enable direct comparisons among them. The simplifying assump tions made in the analysis using various theories are emphasized. In t he light of experimental evidence and the fundamental principles of me chanics, the limitations and advantages of each theory are: assessed. Comparison with limited experimental data indicates that cavity expans ion theories give the closest overall agreement between predicted and measured penetration resistance.