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Plate Load Test

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ISHU ASHOK KUMAR
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26 views6 pages

Plate Load Test

Uploaded by

ISHU ASHOK KUMAR
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PLATE LOAD TEST

For designing shallow foundations, it is necessary to know the bearing


capacity of soil at the desired depth. Plate load test is performed on site
to determine the ultimate bearing capacity of soil at the desired depth.
Data from plate load test is helpful to confirm the design assumptions
made from soil test or can be used as a design parameter.

What is Plate Load Test?


Plate load test is a field test, which is performed to determine the
ultimate bearing capacity of soil and the probable settlement under a
given load. This test is very popular for selection and design of shallow
foundation.
For performing this test, the plate is placed at the desired depth, then the
load is applied gradually and the settlement for each increment of load is
recorded. At one point a settlement occurs at a rapid rate, the total load
up to that point is calculated and divided by the area of the plate to
determine the ultimate bearing capacity of soil at that depth. The
ultimate bearing capacity is then divided by a safety factor (typically
2.5~3) to determine the safe bearing capacity.

Plate Load Test Equipment


The following apparatus is necessary for performing plate load test.

1. Test plate
2. Hydraulic jack & pump
3. Reaction beam or reaction truss
4. Dial gauges
5. Pressure gauge
6. Loading columns
7. Necessary equipment for loading platform.
8. Tripod, Plumb bob, spirit level etc.
Plate Load Test Procedure
The necessary steps to perform plate load test is written below-

1. Excavate test pit up to the desired depth. The pit size should be at
least 5 times the size of the test plate (Bp).
2. At the center of the pit, a small hole or depression is created. Size
of the hole is same as the size of the steel plate. The bottom level
of the hole should correspond to the level of actual foundation. The
depth of the hole is created such that the ratio of the depth to width
of the hole is equal to the ratio of the actual depth to actual width
of the foundation.
3. A mild steel plate is used as load bearing plate whose thickness
should be at least 25 mm thickness and size may vary from 300
mm to 750 mm. The plate can be square or circular. Generally, a
square plate is used for square footing and a circular plate is used
for circular footing.
4. A column is placed at the center of the plate. The load is
transferred to the plate through the centrally placed column.
5. The load can be transferred to the column either by gravity loading
method or by truss method.

GRAVITY LOADING METHOD


TRUSS METHOD
6. For gravity loading method a platform is constructed over the
column and load is applied to the platform by means of sandbags
or any other dead loads. The hydraulic jack is placed in between
column and loading platform for the application of gradual
loading. This type of loading is called reaction loading.
7. At least two dial gauges should be placed at diagonal corners of the
plate to record the settlement. The gauges are placed on a platform
so that it does not settle with the plate.
8. Apply seating load of 0.7 T/m2 and release before the actual
loading starts.
9. The initial readings are noted.
10. The load is then applied through hydraulic jack and increased
gradually. The increment is generally one-fifth of the expected safe
bearing capacity or one-tenth of the ultimate bearing capacity or
any other smaller value. The applied load is noted from pressure
gauge.
11. The settlement is observed for each increment and from dial
gauge. After increasing the load-settlement should be observed
after 1, 4, 10, 20, 40 and 60 minutes and then at hourly intervals
until the rate of settlement is less than 0.02 mm per hour. The
readings are noted in tabular form.
12. After completing of the collection of data for a particular
loading, the next load increment is applied and readings are noted
under new load. This increment and data collection is repeated
until the maximum load is applied. The maximum load is generally
1.5 times the expected ultimate load or 3 times of the expected
allowable bearing pressure.

Calculation of Bearing Capacity from Plate Load Test


After collection of field data, the load-settlement curve is drawn. It is a
logarithmic graph where the load applied is plotted on X-axis and
settlement in Y-axis. From the graph, the ultimate load for the plate is
obtained which is the corresponding load for settlement of one-fifth of
the plate width.

Fi

LOAD SETTLEMENT CURVE


When the points are plotted on the graph, the curve is broken at
one point. The corresponding load to that breakpoint is
considered to be the ultimate load on the plate. The ultimate
bearing capacity can be calculated from the ultimate load from the
plate. The ultimate bearing capacity is then divided by a suitable
factor of safety to determine the safe bearing capacity of soil from
the foundation.

General Equations for Calculation of Bearing


Capacity of Soil
For Clayey Soil
Ultimate bearing capacity = Ultimate load for the plate.
For Sandy Soil
Ultimate bearing capacity = Ultimate load for plate X Width of Pit⁄Size of Plate
Safe bearing capacity = Ultimate bearing capacity/factor of safety
Typically, the range for the factor of safety varies from 2 to 3.

Equations for Foundation Settlement Calculation from


Plate Load Test
The following equations can be used for foundation
settlement calculation
For Clayey Soil
Settlement of foundation = Settlement of plate X (Width of
Pit)/
(Size of Plate)

For Sandy Soil


Settlement of foundation = Settlement of plate X (Width of Pit X(
Width of Plate + 0.3)/ 2
Size of Plate X( Width of Pit+0.3))

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