Issues related to piezocone sleeve friction measurement accuracy in soft sensitive clays

Over the past decades, the piezocone testing has been increasingly adopted for field investigation as it offers a quick and cost-effective methodology for subsoil profiling and geotechnical parameters estimation. Although the piezocone testing has revealed good applicability worldwide, difficulties are encountered in complex soil conditions, such as soft sensitive clays. One of the key issues in such soils is represented by the poor quality of the sleeve friction (fs) measurement due to inaccuracy and poor resolution of the sleeve sensor. This paper investigates the influence of fs data quality on soil parameters determination with particular emphasis on the soil behavior type (SBT) chart classification. The field investigation was conducted in a soft sensitive clay site located in Finland using two different penetrometers: a standard piezocone and an advanced piezocone characterized by enhance accuracy sleeve friction sensor. Results show that the use of high-resolution piezocone plays a key role in soft clays to avoid misleading soil type classification.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Fincone : A study on the use of CPT in soft sensitive clays

The paper presents the results of a recent study on the application of CPTU on soft sensitive Finnish clays. An extensive field and laboratory investigation program was carried out, including 9 test sites of which 5 were studied in more detail. In each of the test sites, a minimum of 4 CPTU soundings, 2-3 field vane test with a new type of down hole vane, sampling with a newly developed large diameter tube sampler and an extensive laboratory investigation program were carried out. Transformation models were developed to estimate the undrained shear strength, preconsolidation stress, and constrained modulus for the over consolidated region. In addition, new information about anisotropy of Finnish clays were obtained. In general, the CPTU tests proved to be very reliable with very good repeatability. However, the measurement of sleeve friction proved to be somewhat problematic for the very soft and sensitive clays studied.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Oral health among Finns aged 60 years and older:edentulousness, fixed prostheses, dental infections detected from radiographs and their associating factors

Abstract Oral health among older people is shown to be worse compared to younger people. The aim of this study was to evaluate oral health and associating factors among ageing Finns. A cross-sectional, descriptive epidemiologic survey was performed in Kirkkonummi in southern Finland and in the Lakeus District in northern Finland. Altogether 1,191 subjects aged 60 to 78 years, 625 from Kirkkonummi and 566 from Lakeus, were examined and interviewed. Edentulousness and poor occlusal stability were recorded clinically. Gonial angle, ramus height, condylar height and the amount of residual ridge resorption in the mandible and the presence of fixed prostheses were evaluated from panoramic radiographs. Based on the radiographs the scoring of infection foci was performed with an infection focus index. The signs of infection recorded were deep caries, periapical lesions, furcal lesions, vertical bone pockets and horizontal bone loss. The prevalence of edentulousness was 37%, being significantly higher among women than among men and significantly higher in the northern compared to the southern region. Edentulousness was more prevalent among subjects with primary school education than among those with higher education. The mean of the gonial angle was smaller among dentate subjects than among edentulous ones. Dentate subjects had significantly greater ramus height and condylar height than edentulous subjects. Women had significantly more often than men severe residual ridge resorption in the mandible. Poor satisfaction with dentures associated significantly with poor occlusal stability in both genders. More than three quarters of the subjects had severe risk of infection, more in the southern than in the northern region. In the dentate sample women showed higher prevalence of fixed prostheses than men. In the Kirkkonummi region both men and women had more fixed prostheses than subjects in the Lakeus region. Edentulousness was very frequent among ageing Finns. Mandibular bone morphology changed as a consequence of tooth loss. The prevalence of fixed prostheses was low and the prevalence of signs of infection of dental origin was high. The geographical differences in oral health should be considered by health authorities in order to promote good oral health in rural areas, especially focusing on older people with low socio-economical status and poor health.Tiivistelmä Vanhusväestön suun terveydentila on useassa tutkimuksessa todettu huonommaksi kuin nuoremmilla. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää suomalaisen ikääntyvän väestön suun terveydentilaa ja siihen liittyviä tekijöitä. Epidemiologinen poikkileikkaustutkimus tehtiin Kirkkonummella Etelä-Suomessa ja Lakeuden terveyskeskuksen alueella Pohjois-Suomessa. Tutkimukseen ja haastatteluun osallistui yhteensä 1191 iältään 60–78-vuotiasta henkilöä, 625 Kirkkonummelta ja 566 Lakeudelta. Kliinisessä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin hampaattomuus ja proteesien purentatasapaino. Alaleuan leukakulma, nousevan haaran ja nivellisäkkeen korkeus, hammasharjanteen korkeus ja kiinteiden proteesien esiintyminen arvioitiin panoraamaröntgenkuvista. Tulehdusriskiä kuvaava indeksi arvioitiin röntgenkuvien tulehdusmuutoksista, joina rekisteröitiin syvä karies, hampaan juurenpään tulehdus, tulehdus takahampaiden juurten haarautumassa, syventyneet luutaskut ja kiinnityskudoskato usean hampaan alueella. Hampaattomuuden vallitsevuus oli 37 %. Se oli tilastollisesti merkitsevästi korkeampi naisilla kuin miehillä ja pohjoisella alueella merkitsevästi korkeampi kuin eteläisellä. Hampaattomuus oli yleisempää vähiten koulutusta saaneilla kuin korkeamman koulutuksen saaneilla. Hampaallisilla oli pienempi alaleuan leukakulma kuin hampaattomilla, ja heillä oli myös korkeampi nouseva haara ja nivellisäke kuin hampaattomilla. Naisilla oli merkitsevästi useammin vakavaa hammasharjanteen madaltumista kuin miehillä. Molemmilla sukupuolilla tyytymättömyys proteeseihin liittyi merkitsevästi huonoon purentatasapainoon. Yli kolmella neljäsosalla tutkituista oli vakava tulehdusriski, eteläisellä alueella enemmän kuin pohjoisella. Hampaallisessa aineistossa naisilla oli enemmän kiinteitä proteeseja kuin miehillä. Kirkkonummen alueella tutkituilla oli enemmän kiinteitä proteeseja kuin Lakeuden alueella. Hampaattomuus oli hyvin yleistä 60–78-vuotiailla suomalaisilla. Alaleuanluun muoto muuttui hampaiden menetyksen seurauksena. Kiinteiden proteesien määrä oli vähäinen ja ikääntyvillä suomalaisilla oli röntgenkuvissa runsaasti hammasperäisten tulehdusten löydöksiä. Suun terveyden alueelliset erot tulisi ottaa huomioon suu- ja hammasterveyden edistämistyössä, jossa erityisesti tulisi huomioida alhaisen sosioekonomisen aseman ja huonon terveyden omaava vanhempi väestö

Digging in the dark : reviewing international literature to address impending policy challenges for Swedish and Finnish mining

The mining industries of Sweden and Finland currently face several policy issues around investment, stakeholder involvement,and sustainability. Since the two countries garnered significant attention during the mining boom, research from a social sciencesperspective grew significantly. One approach to understanding how these issues in Sweden and Finland compare to internationalexamples is through an analysis of the policy development framework. Looking at three factors—institutions, actors, andprocess—gives a broad overview of the imminent challenges in both Sweden and Finland and potential lessons from existingresearch that point to similar problems and their solutions. As the mining operations continue to sit at the center of differentvalues, capable policy is required