Geotechnical Engineering-II Lab

CE-313L
CH (0+1)

Instructor: Engr. Zia Ullah

Email: zia_uet@yahoo.com

Department of Civil Engineering

UET Peshawar
PLATE LOAD TEST
 Class Outlines
• Plate load test
Introduction
Apparatus
Procedure
Calculation of Soil Bearing Capacity
Advantages of Plate load test
Limitations of Plate Load Test
 Introduction
• Plate load test is done at site to determine
– Ultimate bearing capacity of soil
– Settlement of foundation under the loads for clayey
and sandy soils
• Suitable for gravel/boulder strata when SPT and
DCPT does not give dependable results
• Also used to determine the modulus of
subgrade reaction (K) useful for design of
pavements
 Apparatus for Plate Load Test
1.Bearing plate:
• Circular steel bearing plate 30 mm thickness and 305
mm diameter is used.
2.Hydraulic jack:
• Hydraulic jack capacity is 35 ton (350 kN).
3. Settlement recording devices:
• Dial gauge, capable of measuring settlement of the
loaded plate to an accuracy of 0.01 mm.
4. Reaction beam
5.Miscellaneous apparatus includes.
• 5.1. Compression post
• 5.2. Reference beam steel stands and
• 5.3. Other construction tools required for
preparation of the test & loading apparatus
Apparatus for Plate Load Test
 Procedure
 Application of seating load of 0.07 kg/cm2
 Load removed after 5-10 min, Dial gauge is set to zero
 The load is then applied in cumulative in equal increment of 0.5 to 1
kg/cm2
 For each increment, settlement are noted down at different time
interval of 1, 2.25, 4, 6.25, 9, 16, 25 min, 1hr, 2hr, till the rate of
settlement is not more than 0.02 mm/min, not less than 1hr for sandy
gravelly soils
 In clays, the settlement measures are taken for 24 hours for each load
increment
 Application of next higher load and the process is repeated
 Test is continued till a total settlement of 25 mm under normal
condition or 50 mm (under special condition like dense gravel, gravel-
sand mixture) is reached or till failure occurs whichever is earlier
 Calculation of final settlement corresponding to each loading intensity
(Average of settlement of all three or four dial gauge readings)
 When settlement does not reach 25 mm continue the test till
Procedure
 Calculation of Soil Bearing Capacity
• The allowable pressure on a prototype foundation for an
assumed settlement may be found by making use of the
following equations suggested by Terzaghi and Peck (1948)
for square footings in granular soils
Calculation of Soil Bearing Capacity
 Advantages of Plate Load Test
Being able to understand the foundation behavior
under loading condition.
Evaluation of bearing capacity of soil at a certain
depth and prediction of settlement for a certain
load.
Shallow foundation can be calculated considering
the allowable bearing capacity, which can be
predicted from plate load test.
Suitable for gravel/boulder strata when SPT and
DCPT does not give dependable results
 Limitations of Plate Load Test
Since a load test is of short duration, consolidation
settlements cannot be predicted. The test gives
the value of immediate settlement only.
If the underlying soil is sandy in nature immediate
settlement may be taken as the total settlement. If
the soil is a clayey type, the immediate settlement
is only a fraction of the total settlement. Load
tests, therefore, do not have much significance in
clayey soils to determine allowable pressure on the
basis of a settlement criterion.
If the soil is not homogeneous to a great depth,
plate load tests give very misleading results