GEOTECHNICAL MODEL TESTS OF BEARING CAPACITY PROBLEMS IN A CENTRIFUGE

The paper introduces the centrifuge research activities undertaken by the soil mechanics group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology during the past ten years and focuses on the bearing capacity of shallow foundations in dense sand. A series of experiments was conducted to explain de Beer's scale effect and to investigate the effect of the roughness of the footing base, the anisotropy in dense sand, the embedment of footings and the effect of slopes near footings. Measurements of deformations were attempted during loading tests using an automatic tracking device developed by the group and radiographs were used to detect slip lines. Progressive failure was found to be more marked for wider footings, which is considered to be the main cause of the scale effect; the smaller bearing capacity factors occur for wider footings. It is shown that strong anisotropy in dense sand is also responsible for the scale effect. A smooth footing, made by lubricating the base with a greased membrane, yielded two symmetrical wedges beneath the base and a smaller bearing capacity than that obtained with a rough footing, as theory predicts. A simple expression for predicting the effect of embedment of footings is deduced from the results of the experiments. With respect to the bearing capacity of foundations near slopes, a satisfactory agreement was found between the results of the centrifuge experiments and those of model tests on a prototype scale. (Author/TRRL)

• Corporate Authors:

  Institution of Civil Engineers

  One Great George Street, Westminster
  London,   United Kingdom  SW1P 3AA
• Authors:
  • KIMURA, T
  • Kusakabe, O
  • Saitoh, K
• Publication Date: 1985-3

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 33-45
• Serial:
  • GEOTECHNIQUE
  • Volume: 35
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Thomas Telford Limited
  • ISSN: 0016-8505

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Anchoring; Anisotropy (Physics); Bearing capacity; Centrifugal force; Centrifuges; Deformation; Equipment; Footings; Forecasting; Foundations; Geotechnical engineering; Load tests; Mat foundations; Mathematical models; Roughness; Sand; Scale models; Slopes; Structural models
• Uncontrolled Terms: Anisotropic; Embedment; Models
• Old TRIS Terms: Anisotropy
• ITRD Terms: 3085: Bearing capacity; 5404: Centrifugal force; 5595: Deformation; 3674: Equipment; 5917: Isotropic; 6205: Model (not math); 4105: Sand; 3397: Shallow foundation
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Geotechnology; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00451370
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 27 2004 9:57PM