LATERAL PLATE TESTS ON DRY NCEL TEST SAND,

Abstract

A series of lateral-plate tests was performed in NCEL test sand for the purpose of determining the variation of the coefficient of horizontal subgrade reaction, k sub h, with overburden pressure and deflection. The test procedure consisted of applying a static overburden pressure to the surface of sand while slowly forcing a 9.75-inch diameter circular plate horizontally through the soil and recording the corresponding loads and deflections of the plate. Seven tests were performed at overburden pressures from 1 to 16 psi. The magnitude of k sub h was seen to decrease exponentially with plate deflection, d, and to increase exponentially with overburden pressure, p sub s; however, above an overburden pressure of 8 psi, the region of interest in buried structure design, the variation of k sub h with p sub s became approximately linear. In conjunction with these tests, studies were made which indicated that (1) the coefficient of earth pressure at rest, K, decreased with increasing overburden pressure, approaching a value of 0.38 degrees; (2) there was approximately a 40 percent reduction in horizontal pressure on the plate due to soil arching associated with slight inward movement of the plate compared to the case in which no movement was allowed; and (3) vibration of the soil surface during backfilling caused the at rest horizontal pressure on the plate to increase by nearly a factor of four times that which occurred when the soil was shoveled into place. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1964
Accession Number
AD0454265

Entities

People

  • H. L. Gill
  • T. R. Kretschmer

Organizations

  • Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Coefficients
  • Deflection
  • Diameters
  • Geometry
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical Waves
  • Motion
  • Physical Properties
  • Subgrades
  • Vibration

Readers

  • Geotechnical Engineering.
  • Structural Dynamics.