Scaling Considerations for 1-g Model Horizontal Plate Anchor Tests in Sand

Abstract

This paper addresses scaling issues related to small-scale 1-g model tests on plate anchors in sand under drained loading conditions. Previous centrifuge studies from the literature have suggested that the results of conventional 1-g model testing are inaccurate because of scale effects. Other studies have suggested, however, that scaling errors can be reduced in 1-g model tests if the results are presented in dimensionless form and the constitutive response of the model soil is representative of the prototype behavior. There are no experimental studies in the literature that have tested the validity of this approach for plate anchors. A simple 1-g scaling framework was developed for vertically loaded, horizontal plate anchors.Small-scale 1-g model tests were performed on square plate anchors in dry sand, and combined with existing centrifuge and 1-g model test data from the literature to test the scaling approach for both capacity and deformation. The 1-g model tests provided a reasonable representation of the full-scale prototype behavior when the scaling approach was applied.

Effect of soil deformability on the failure mechanism of shallow plate or screw anchors in sand

“…In general, larger diameter and centrifuge tests provide a lower bound for the results (Schiavon et al 2016, Giampa et al 2017, Perez et al 2017 while the very small-scale tests tend to provide larger bearing factors (Baker and Konder 1966, Mitsch and Clemence 1985, Murray and Geddes 1987, Ghaly et al 1991. The larger capacity of small-scale tests may be explained by dilatancy which is more pronounced due to low confining stress as suggested by Bradshaw et al (2016).…”

Grain-size effect on uplift capacity of plate anchors in coarse granular soils

“…In centrifuge tests or 1g-chamber tests, the tested anchor size B is usually between 15 and 50 mm (Merifield & Sloan, 2006;Garnier et al, 2007;Chow et al, 2015;Bradshaw et al, 2016;Schiavon et al, 2016), with grain-size d 50 of few hundredths microns. This leads to B/d ranging from a few dozens to a few hundreds.…”

An anchoring system for supporting platforms for wind energy devices

“…Analysing plate anchor behaviour in sand The capacity of a buried plate anchor is dependent on the embedment depth, shape, orientation, loading type and loading angle (in-plane or out-of-plane) and the stiffness of the soil (Bradshaw et al, 2016). Murray and Geddes (1987) showed that the anchor pull-out capacity increased as the embedment ratio increased.…”