Cone Bearing Estimation Utilizing a Hybrid HMM and IFM Smoother Filter Formulation
Erick Baziw, Gerald Verbeek · International Journal of Geosciences · 2021
Cone penetration testing (CPT) is a widely used geotechnical engineering in-situ test for mapping soil profiles and assessing soil properties. In CPT, a cone on the end of a series of rods is pushed into the ground at a constant rate and resistance to the cone tip is measured (qm). The qm values are utilized to characterize the soil profile. Unfortunately, the measured cone tip resistance is blurred and/or averaged which can result in the distortion of the soil profile characterization and the inability to identify thin layers. This paper outlines a novel and highly effective algorithm for obtaining cone bearing estimates qt from averaged or smoothed qm measurements. This qt optimal filter estimation technique is referred to as the qtHMM-IFM algorithm and it implements a hybrid hidden Markov model and iterative forward modelling technique. The mathematical details of the qtHMM-IFM algorithm are outlined in this paper along with the results from challenging test bed. The test bed simulations have demonstrated that the qtHMM-IFM algorithm can derive accurate qt values from challenging averaged qm profiles. This allows for greater soil resolution and the identification and quantification of thin layers in a soil profile.