This paper presents the analyses of the results of the site investigation programme carried out at the Kowloon Bay site in Hong Kong. The tests consisted of self-boring pressuremeter (SBPM), Marchetti dilatometer (DMT), and laboratory tests carried out in a granite saprolite, which can be described as a lightly cemented sand. The purpose of this research project is to stimulate the development of methods to interpret data obtained from tests in residual soils. In particular, the work aims to evaluate the analyses of the SBPM data through a curve-fitting technique. Both the loading and unloading portions of the SBPM curve were analysed and the results compared with those from other tests. The advantage of this analysis technique is the possibility of constructing a theoretical curve that reproduces a pressuremeter test from which a set of fundamental parameters can be derived, namely the friction angle, cohesion intercept, lateral stress, and shear modulus. The DMT proved to be a reliable tool that yielded good soil parameters at a small fraction of the cost of the other in situ tests.Key words: residual soil, in situ tests, pressuremeter, Marchetti dilatometer.
A sorptivity test and a permeability test were used as an assessment of the degree of porosity of stone flooring tiles, where there was particular interest in the surface characteristics. A good correlation was obtained between the two tests; the sorptivity is preferred since it is the easier to perform and could be extended to assess the characteristics of full-sized tiles.
A Taber Abraser was used to compare the likely wear of the stones. Assessment was by weight loss and by groove depth, measured by both a depth micrometer and a laser beam profile meter. Good agreement was achieved among all the wear measurement methods. The laser beam is the least preferred method due to the equipment cost and availability. Mohs' mineralogical scratch method was used to assess hardness, which is possibly related logarithmically to the Taber wear.
The stone types were two granites and two marbles in common use in Hong Kong. One granite had the best properties from all measurements. The other granite and one of the marbles had similar properties, while the remaining marble showed distinctly inferior properties. Flooring specification limits could perhaps be set above those achieved on the poorer marble, but more work is required to set definitive limits. Stone flooring physical property limits do not appear to be specified in Hong Kong, and elsewhere performance specifications seem to be at best limited.
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