Modified correlations to predict the shear wave velocity using piezocone penetration test data and geotechnical parameters: a case study in the southwest of Sweden

Shear wave velocity (VS) is an important geotechnical characteristic for determining dynamic soil properties. When no direct measurements are available, VS can be estimated based on correlations with common in situ tests, such as the piezocone penetration test (CPTu). In the current paper, three modified equations to predict the VS of soft clays based on a comprehensive provided CPTu database and related geotechnical parameters for southwest of Sweden were presented. The performance of the obtained relations were examined and investigated by several statistical criteria as well as graph analyses. The best performance was observed by implementing of corrected cone tip resistance (qt) and pore pressure ratio (Bq) which directly can be found from CPTu data. The introduced modifications were developed and validated for available soft clays of the studied area in southwest of Sweden, and thus, their applicability for proper prediction in other areas with different characteristics should be controlled. However, the used method as a suitable tool can be employed to investigate. © 2016, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.