Donor: French Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (CFMS)
The M茅nard Pressuremeter system is an in-situ testing device aiming to characterize soil behavior parameters. It was largely developed by Louis M茅nard in France in the 1950s and 1960s. The system is composed of a control unit, and a cylindrical inflatable probe. During a test the expandable cylindrical probe, placed inside a borehole, is expanded following a predefined loading program. Soil deformation is observed, measuring cavity volume expansion. The resulting pressure鈥搗olume curve can be interpreted to derive deformability and strength parameters of the soil. The pressuremeter test remain one the most used in-situ test in France, while French standard widely uses pressuremeter parameters for foundation design.