6585844963

Australia

160

3.387

Australia and other countries • wlth electrlcal friction cone penetrometer8, such as tho Fugro type clted In this report. At last count (HOLDEN. 1973), the Fugro penetrometer had 14 advantages over the mechanlcal Dutch Friction Cone penetrometer.

It seems desirable to lnvestlgate the posslbi li ty ol establishlng an International Basic Serles of Penetro-meters to cater for the majority of condltlons encountered in different countries. They should be selected after a careful study of varlous types of exlstlng penetrometers. Each penetrometer In the serles should have its International Standard Test Method to facllitate an exchange of test Infomiatlon.

To improve the potency of the valuable quasi-statlc cone penetration test, and thus make it morę acceptable to foundation engineers, the penetrometer should be rigorously calibrated in major soli types under controlled condltlons in the laboratory. There is tremendous scope for International co-operatłon in accomplishing this ambitious objective.

Consldering testlng equlpment, It would be beneficial to concentrate on improvlng the penetrating capabillty of the quasi*static penetrometer by developing, for example. cheaper larger-capacity thrust machines wlth rapldly-installed, efflclent anchorage systems to cater for all surface soli condltlons.

There is a deflnite need to publlclse the advantages of penetration testlng, especlally the quasl-statlc C.P.T.

The books written by SANGLERAT (1972) are contribut-Ing greatly to this cause. This symposlum is expected to contribute much in this regard.

Finally, this symposlum should consider the need to standardIse on a loglcal system of terminology and symbols, such as that presented in the proposed A.S.T.M. Tentative Standard Method (SANGLERAT. 1972,

Appendlx A). * 9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wlshes to thank Mr. J.G. Lang. Oivlslon of Applied Geomechanlcs, C.S.I.R.O., for his assistance In conductlng the survey and all the persons who replied to the questlonnaire.

This report is publlshed wlth the permissson of Mr. R.E.V. Donaldson, Chairman of the Country Roads Board of Vlctoria.

10. APPENDIX - THE AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENT

10.1 Locatlon and Dlulslon

Australia, the world's smallest continent, has anarea of 7.7 milllon km² (2,968,000 square mlles) including the island State of Tasmania. It Is almost as largo as the United States of America excludlng Alaska and morę than half as large again as Europę excludlng the U.S.S.R.

The continent lies between 113°E and 154°E and latitudes 10°S and 39°S, or 44°S Including Tasmania.

Australia is dlvlded into the followlng States and Territories (wlth their Capital citles):

Oueensland (Brisbane);

New South Wales (Sydney);

Vlctoria (Melbourne);

Tasmania (Hobart);

South Australia (AdelaIde);

Western Australia (Perth);

Northern Terrltory (Darwin);

Australian Capital Terrltory (Canberra).

10.2 Physlcal

Because Australia is geologicatly old and stable. its ancient highlands have weathered to Iow levels, havlng an average elevatlon of about 275 m (900 ft). The dominant mountaln rangę, the Great Dlviding Rangę, runs v Irtually parał lei to the entire eastern coastllne and Includes the hlghest peak, Mount Kosclusko, belng only 2231.4 m (7,316 ft). • This rangę forms the boundary ot a narrow belt of coastal pfain, the Eastern Coastlands, that averages roughly about 80 km (50 mlles) wide. Three-quarters of the land mass is in the form of a huge plateau - the Great Western Plateau - that largely influences Au$tralla's cllmate.

The northern two-flfths of the continent has a tropical climate and the rest Is temperate. The Iow ralnfall (see Figurę 6) accompanied by higher evaporation over a large proportłon (>70%) of the mainland has produced vast areas of arid and semi-arid soils.

10.3    Popu lat lon Distrlbutlon

Owing to the climalic Influences, most of Australla*s population of 13 mi Mion people is concentrated near the coast as illustrated in Figurę 6. In fact, 84% of the urban population, including Australia's three largest citles - viz., Sydney (2.8 million), Melbourne (2.5 million) and Brisbane (0.9 million) • live on the well-watered Eastern Coastlands.

10.4    Construction

The number of foundation investigations that could lnvolve deep penetration tests is llnked to the construction of medium to large structures. Apart from country roads and brldges, most of this construction actłvity takes place in the larger oitles. Thus about nine-tenths of the major construction takes place on the eastern seaboard, or about three-quarters takes place In the three mało citles.

An indlcatlon of the amount of foundation lnvestlgatlon werk can be gained from the expenditurę on the maln types of construction shown In Table 1 (COMMON-WEALTH BUREAU OF CENSUS AND STATISTICS, 1972). The typecalled "Other Buildings" comprises mainly the medium to large structures such as offices, factories, hotels, warehouses, etc. Notę that the expenditure for Roads and Bridges Is over half that for Other Buildings. Most bridges are bul It as stream crossings in the highly-populated, medium to high rainfall, Coastal plalns.

Expendlture

Type of Construction    (A$1 _miin₀n)

Houses and Flats    1.466

Other Buildings    1.225

Roads and Bridges    696

TOTAL

TABLE 1

10.5 Oeology ot Major Construction Areas 10.5.1 Sydney

About two-thirds of the Sydney area consists of the variably-weathered Trlasslc Wlanamatta shales. However, In many areas these shales form only a thln capping over the harder Trlasslc Hawkesbury Sandstone, whlch outerops to the north, the south and In the eastern suburbs. To the west the thick shale beds are weathered to conslderable depths, produclng extensive areas of stlff residual soils.

The only other signlflcant foundation materlals are the Tertlary sands of the Richmond area, and the