Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP)

The PANDA® Instrumented DCP measures and displays a material’s in-situ resistance to penetration through the depth profile of the material. The setup is extremely mobile and able to investigate areas with limited access or height restrictions. For example, it can be used in basements, on very steep slopes, in back yards and tunnels.

• The typical operating range of the PANDA® is 4-6 meters depth in soils with a cone resistance of 20-30 MPa.
• 2 cm² fixed cones and 4 cm² lost cones
• Variable energy (1.7 kg manual Hammer, 10 kg automatic hammer)

• Used for compaction control and site investigation
• Portable method for evaluating soil strength
• Immediate repeatable results so that on-site decisions can be made straight away
• Good for testing in challenging conditions (e.g. remote, soft, marshy, over-water or confined spaces).

• Salman, Hosam, Ravi Vedantham, William Martinez, and Anand J. Puppala. “A Case Study and Lessons Learned Loop 1604 Western Extension Subgrade and Pavement Testing and Evaluation.” In IFCEE 2018, pp. 422-433. 2018.
• Puppala, Anand J., Ekarut Archeewa, Sireesh Saride, Soheil Nazarian, and Laureano Hoyos. Recommendations for design, construction, and maintenance of bridge approach slabs. No. FHWA/TX-11/0-6022-2. University of Texas at Arlington, 2012.
• Puppala, Anand J., and Bhaskar CS Chittoori. “Transportation infrastructure settlement and heave distress: challenges and solutions.” Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE A 13, no. 11 (2012): 850-857.
• Praticò, Filippo G., and Anand J. Puppala. “Lime and cement treatments of subgrades in southern Italy: Facing interports Issues and challenges.” Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 53 (2012): 389-398.
• Sirivitmaitrie, Chakkrit, Anand J. Puppala, Sireesh Saride, and Laureano Hoyos. “Combined lime–cement stabilization for longer life of low-volume roads.” Transportation research record 2204, no. 1 (2011): 140-147.
• Puppala, Anand J., Gautham S. Pillappa, Laureano R. Hoyos, Deepti Vasudev, and Deepti Devulapalli. “Comprehensive field studies to address the performance of stabilized expansive clays.” Transportation research record 1989, no. 1 (2007): 3-12.
• Enayatpour, Saeid, Anand J. Puppala, and Hariharan Vasudevan. “Dynamic cone penetrometer to evaluate unconfined compressive strength of stabilized soils.” In Site and Geomaterial Characterization, pp. 285-292. 2006.