The PANDA 2 Variable Energy Light Weight Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) from Sol Solution is used for soil investigation and compaction control and is a widely accepted portable method for evaluating strength and density of soil. The PANDA 2 is a lightweight (total weight of equipment 20kg) hand held DCP which uses variable energy and can be operated by one man to test soils in almost any location to a depth of 6 meters.For deep or repetitive tests, an automatic hammer is available as an alternative to using the 1.7kg hammer. The Automatic Hammer can also be operated by one person.

Applications for the PANDA 2 Variable Energy Light Weight Dynamic Cone Penetrometer include cable and pipe laying, trench work, flexible pavements, unsealed roads and mine access roads, landfill facilities, tunnels, railway track beds, cuttings and embankments, airport runway and taxiways, hard standing areas, dam construction, canal building, building foundations, electricity pylons and poles, property sub-divisions, mobile crane foot standing pads (outriggers) and telecom masts.

Clients include those involved in pavement construction, pavement rehabilitation, material testing, geotechnical testing and site investigation and include utilities (gas, electricity and water), road authorities and councils, asset managers, mines, mobile crane operations, engineering and construction groups, subcontractors, geotechnical consultancies and research organisations. To find out more, Contact Us.

The advantages of the PANDA 2 include:

• Natural and recycled materials verification of compaction
• CBR % values throughout depth of penetration
• Direct GPS input for location purposes
• Monitoring layer thickness, and compaction homogeneity
• Layer identification
• Material identification
• 5 minutes per test with results viewable on site
• Ability to reach 4-6 metres depth in soils with a cone resistance of 20-30 Mpa.
• Easy to use
• Safe to operate (overcomes the safety issues of hand / finger crushing and back injury associated with the conventional Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP))
• Self contained
• Small, portable and lightweight (one person operation) – 20kg unit
• Cost effective as single person operation
• Accurate data readings
• No manual data recording (data recording / transposition errors eliminated)
• Graphical representation of the data
• Investigation of sites of restricted or remote access

The PANDA 2 DCP has become widely used and accepted across Europe and internationally from Mexico to the USA and from Japan to Korea.The PANDA was designed and developed by Dr. Roland Gourves the principle lecturer in soil mechanics at CUST, Blaise Pascal University Clermont-Ferrand, France in 1991.