Onshore Cone Penetration Test (CPT) equipment


Large infrastructure and civil works set high demands to the reliability and accuracy of the information about the subsoil. This information is fundamental for a successful project. Cone Penetration Test (CPT) is a scientifically proven soil testing method (conform the ISO 22476-1) that provides accurate soil data. 

A Cone Penetration Test is usually performed using a specially outfitted truck. If necessary, this CPT Truck can be fitted with tracks to reduce the wheel load by 60 to 70% in order to move in soft and hilly terrain without getting stuck. Then the by A.P. van den Berg invented Track-Truck is created. At sites where the maximum allowed height is limited, the CPT Crawler can be used.

A CPT penetrometer in the truck cabin is used to push a CPT cone into the ground, with the aid of steel CPT rods. This is done with a constant speed of 2,0 cm/sec. Inside the cabin a CPT data logger is placed near a computer on which the obtained data is recorded. It combines the depth information with the CPT data and provides power to the Icone. A CPT software package on the CPT data acquisition system allows for recording, realtime showing and storing the data.
 
A CPT rig often weighs between 10 and 25 tonnes. This weight is necessary as reactive force. Reactive force can also be obtained by using ground anchors, which is often done in places that are difficult to reach. In that case a compact CPT system without cabin is used. Examples are: the most compact & lightest self-propelled unit the Mini CPT Crawler, the compact and manoeuvrable Midi CPT Crawler with a minimum power of 20 tons, the low-budget 20 tons CPT Trailer, the versatile, low-budget and easy-to-transport CPT SKID and the light & compact HYSON 100 kN-LW (Light Weight) CPT penetrometer. 

Ever since 1968, the engineers of A.P. van den Berg have been making CPT rigs available for onshore soil investigation. In the early 1960s the Goudse Machinefabriek (GMF) put a machine into production that was entirely the brainchild of mechanical engineer A.P. van den Berg, founder of the engineering bureau A.P. van den Berg. It was the first hydraulic 10-tonnes soil testing system in the world.

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