Characterization on the correlation between shear wave velocity and piezocone tip resistance of Jiangsu clays

• A database between CPTU and Vs for clays has been assembled.
• Improvements were suggested to existing correlations and index properties.
• CPTU qt and especially u2, and Vs can be measured reliably and repeatedly.

The small strain shear modulus of a soil is a fundamental parameter related to the mechanical behavior used in evaluation of dynamic behavior and seismic design of geotechnical structures. The Jiangsu soft clay is a lightly overconsolidated and sensitive clay of high plasticity in nature. A research database of piezocone penetration test (CPTU) and shear wave velocity, Vs, information for Jiangsu soft clays has been collected to study the small strain shear modulus relationships for these soils and to examine the potential use of CPTU and Vs data in combination for the purposes of characterizing these soils. Test data for sites are based on the laboratory testing performed on thin-wall tube samples and high-quality block samples. Improvements have been suggested to existing correlations between the small strain shear modulus, Go, or Vs and index properties for these soils for better prediction of these soil properties.