Determination of Soil Bearing Capacity Using Cone Penetration (a Case Study of Ebikoro, Amaeze Obibiezene, Owerri West, Imo State)

Abstract
This study aims to determine the maximum load-bearing capability of the soil at a specific location in Ebikoro, Amaeze Obibiezena, Owerri West, Imo State. The objective of this study is to evaluate the soil’s bearing capacity at the specified area (Ebikoro, Amaeze Obibiezena) and provide recommendations for addressing potential challenges when erecting engineering structures such as houses, roads, bridges, etc., on this soil after conducting the experiment. The soil’s ultimate and safe bearing capacity was determined using a series of experiments, including sieve analysis, liquid and plastic limit determination, natural moisture content measurement, specific gravity assessment, and triaxial testing.
The ultimate carrying capacity of soil can be determined using many approaches, including various analytical methods such as Terzaghi’s equation, Meyerhof’s equation, and Hansen’s equation. Correlation with field test data, such as the Standard Penetration Test (SPT), is being examined. On-site assessment of bearing capacity, such as conducting plate load tests and pile load tests, helps in determining the ultimate bearing capacity of the soil.
From the results obtained by adopting Terzaghi’s and Meyerhof’s equations in this project, it was observed that the soil sample collected from the site location in Imo State (Ebikoro, Amaeze Obibiezena) has an ultimate bearing capacity (qult) of 254.44 kN/m² for sample one and 230.28 kN/m² for sample two, according to Terzaghi’s method. For Meyerhof’s method, the ultimate bearing capacity is 326.38 kN/m² for sample one and 286.74 kN/m² for sample two, after applying a factor of safety (γm) of 3.
Hence, I highly suggest the site, based on my thorough investigation, as an excellent construction site with a substantial load-bearing capacity. Ultimately, it was noted that the soil at the site is a slightly silty or clayey sand, as evidenced by the fact that the Atterberg limit exceeds the A-line on the plastic chart graph and the plasticity index is larger than 7, as per the Unified Soil Classification System (USC)