CPT+NMR Technology for On-Land and Offshore Geotechnical and Hydrogeological Applications

ABSTRACT A novel technology that combines cone penetrometer test (CPT) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods within a single tool has been developed. This tool provides a real-time immediate measurement of soil mechanical and hydrogeologic properties within a single push. The CPT+NMR tool collects CPT measurements on the way down as the probe is advanced into the subsurface, and NMR measurements of the way up as the tool is retracted from the subsurface. The NMR sensor has a very high vertical resolution of 4 cm. Unlike conventional coring methods, the CPT+NMR technology uniquely provides continuous, high-resolution measurements of key water storage and drainage properties, including total volumetric water content, total porosity (if fully saturated), and quantified estimates of the clay-bound, capillary-bound, and drainable porosities and hydraulic conductivity, in their in situ states. In this study, we summarize the development of CPT+NMR probe and demonstrate its application on land and from a jack-up barge over a lake.