3/14/2017 PlateBearingTestInSituBS1377Part9:1990Standards|GEOSite&TestingServicesLtd(GSTL)|GeoTechnicaltestingservicesintheUK

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PlateBearingTest
Typicaltestsetup

BS1377Part9:1990Standard

Inthedesignofshallowfoundationor
Schematic
trafficsurface,designengineersneedto
knowthebearingcapacityofsoil
underneath.Platebearingtestiscarried
outinthefieldtoservethispurpose.
Resultsfromthetestcanbeusedas Installtestrig
designparameterorusedtoconfirmthe
designassumption.

Thetestshallbecarriedoutin Rigsetup

generalaccordancewithBS
1377:Part91990'inSituTests'.
Acircularplatehavinga
maximumdiameterof300
600mmshallbeused.
Excavatetothetestlevelas
quicklyaspossibletominimise Measuring
theeffectsofstressrelief,
particularlyincohesivefills.A
mechanicalexcavatormaybe
usedprovidedthattheexcavator
bucketdoesnothaveteethand
thelast100mmdepthof
excavationiscarriedoutcarefully
byhand.
Carefullytrimoffandremoveall
loosematerialandanyembedded
fragmentssothattheareafor
theplateisgenerallylevelandas
undisturbedaspossible.
Protectthetestareaandthe
apparatusfrommoisture
changes,sunlightandtheeffects
ofadverseweatherassoonas
thetestlevelisexposedand
throughoutthetest.

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Theplateshallbeplacedona
thinlayer(10to15mmthick)of
cleandrysandtoproducealevel
surfaceonwhichtobedthe
plate.
Setuptheloadinganddeflection,
measuringsystemssothatthe
loadisappliedtotheplate
withouteccentricityandthe
deflectionsystemisoutsidethe
zoneofinfluenceofthe
pattachments.ziplate.During
theseoperationsasmallseating
loadmaybeappliedtotheplate
toenableadjustmentstobe
made:thisseatingloadshallbe
lessthan5kN/m2.
Theloadshallbeappliedinfive
increments.Settlementreading
willbetakenat0.50minute
intervalsforthefirst2minutes,
and1minutesintervals
thereafter,untildetectable
movementoftheplatehas
stopped,i.e.untiltheaverage
settlementrateislessthan
0.02mmper5minuteinterval.
Ateachincrementthepressure
shallbemaintainedasnearas
possibleconstant.
Afterthefinaltestincrementhas
beencompleted,thepressurein
thehydraulicpumpshallthenbe
releasedandthesettlementof
theplateallowedtorecover.
Whentherecoveryisessentially
complete,theresidualsettlement
valueshallberecorded.
OurRangeofPressuresstart
from01500psionthegauge

TestSetup

EquipmentandApparatus

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Counterweightsuchasboxor
platformwithheavymaterial
suckasconcrete,steel,etc.Total
counterweightshouldbeatleast
10%greaterthantheanticipated
maximumtestload.
Hydraulicjackforapplyingthe
load
Provingring,1kgaccuracy,for
measuringtheload
BearingPlate,350mm450mm
and600mmDiameter
FourDialgauges,reference
beams.

TestingProcedure

Selecttestlocationanddepthat
thepointwherethereal
foundationwillbeconstructed,if
possible.Ifthetestisperformed
inatestpit,widthofthepit
shouldbeatleast4to5timesof
platediameter.
Applytheloadtotheplatein
stepsbymeansofhydraulicjack
pushingagainstthecounter
weightuntilreachingthe
maximumtestload.Unloading
shouldalsobedoneinthe
backwardsteps.Readandrecord
theloadofeverystepfrom
provingring.
Readsettlementfromthedial
gauges.3to4dialgaugesshould
beplacedseparatelyat120or
90respectively.

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InterpretationoftheTest
Result

Resultsfromthetestshallconsistofraw
data,loadsettlementcurve,yield
pressure,recommendedallowable
pressureforfoundationdesign,and
modulusofsubgradereaction(K)forroad
design.

IllustrationofScaleEffectin
FoundationDesign

LoadsettlementcurvefromPlate
BearingTest

Das,B.M.(1995)suggestedfollowing
formulaforcalculatingbearingcapacityof

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theactualfootingtocorrectthescale
effect.

Forcohesivesoil

qu(F|=qu

Forcohesionlesssoilwhere

qu~.=bearingcapacityoffooting

qu(p,=bearingcapacityoftestplate

BF.=breadthoffooting

Bp.=breadthoftestplate

Iftheabovemethodgivetoohighbearing
capacity,Engineershouldusejudgmentto
limitallowablepressuretobemore
reasonableforeachtypeofsoilcondition.

Thepredictionofsettlementcanalsobe
donefromtheloadsettlementcurvefrom
thetest.

Determinationoftimeover
settlement

AdvantagesoftheTest

Gainunderstandingoffoundation
behaviorwhichwillenablethe
evaluationoffoundationbearing
capacityandsettlementunder
loadingcondition.
Quickandeasytoperform.

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Limitations

Platebearingtestcangive
bearingcapacityofsubsoilupto
thedepthabouttwiceofplate
diameteronly.
Thereisascaleeffectduetosize
oftestingplateissmallerthan
theactualfooting.

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