DPL (Dinamic Probing Light)

This type of test is a simplified version of the SPT (Standard Penetration Test) with the difference of its reduced size which allows testing and work in places with difficult access, where the accesibilitys make it impossible to enter with SPT equipment. Its disadvantage is that it does not allows the recovery of soil samples.

The test is performed with an apparatus composed of a steel rod and a 10 kilogram hammer which is dropped in a 50 cm path. The study is done producing a record of the number of strokes necessary for the hammer to penetrate the steel rod at intervals of 10 cm depth from the ground.

This technique allows us to determine the most important geotechnical parameters for the characterization of soils, such as soil stratigraphy, cut resistance, relative density and support capacity.

The data obtained is important for the calculation of the load capacity of surface foundations allowing recommendations on the foundation system to be used, the layer of soil where the foundations are laid, the compaction of the ground, determine the susceptibility to liquefaction by earthquakes and the local stability of the works.