Published March 2026.

The static cone test is sometimes known as Dutch Cone, acknowledging its country of origin, or may be referred to as the cone penetrometer test (CPT). There are two means of conducting the test, the mechanical cone, and the electric cone. The latter can also be deployed with the ability to measure the pore water pressure where it is referred to as a piezocone (CPTu).

The mechanical cone is the forerunner of the electric cone. Early testing using a mechanical cone was conducted in the Netherlands in 1932 by P Barentsen. Development progressed in Belgium and the Netherlands experimenting with different shaped cones and methods of penetration. The first electric cone is attributed to German researchers during the Second World War. Development was continued and between 1947 and 1957 Delft University, Soil Mechanics Laboratory developed a system which was very similar to that used today. This was further modified and in 1965 by Fugro who had developed a cone test which has become the international reference test procedure (ISRMFE1977, 198).