Introduction

 The plate load test is one of the most accepted and frequently used
geotechnical field tests for shallow foundation and pavement
design purposes

 It can be used for determining a number of ground parameters

including:
Allowable bearing pressure
Settlement
Modulus of elasticity
Modulus of subgrade reaction
Ultimate bearing capacity

 The plate load test may be carried out in all soils, fills and rocks.
Generally, it is suitable for coarse-grained and composite soils as well as
stiff to firm fine-grained soils.
Development with Time
Plate Load Test (PLT) is a long-standing test method

It was developed around 1930 and has since been sued by US agencies
such as
Bureau of Public Roads
U.S. Corps of Engineers
AASHTO

Mainly to determine the modulus of subgrade reaction (k-value) for

highway and airfield construction, studies on concrete pavement
behavior, and for calibration of pavement thickness design equations

It is used extensively in countries such as US, UK and Germany

Today, it is used more in highway and airfield pavement design, and less
in building foundation design
Standards
• BS 1377: Part 9: 1990
Still widely used (e.g. in Sri Lanka) but it has been replaced by Eurocode 7

• EN 1997-3:2000: Eurocode 7: Geotechnical design – Part 3: Design

assisted by field testing
This is the current European standard containing provisions for Plate Load Test

• ASTM D1194-94: Standard Test Method for Bearing Capacity of Soil for
Static Load and Spread Footings
This has been withdrawn in 2003 with no replacement, probably due to the
fact that PLT is used rarely for building foundations at present

• ASTM D1195 / D1195M – 09 (2015): Standard Test Method for Repetitive

Static Plate Load Tests of Soils and Flexible Pavement Components, for
Use in Evaluation and Design of Airport and Highway Pavements
This is an active standard and reflects the active use of PLT in airport and highway
pavements

• DIN 18134 (2012) – German standard

New Methods of PLT
Drawbacks of Manual PLT
•Time consuming because of significant setup times
•Requires heavy reaction loads
•Reproducing the results is difficult

Empirical correlations between Plate Load Test (PLT) results and other
measures such as California Bearing Ratio (CBR) and Falling Weight
Deflectometer (FWD) have been developed, but there are considerable
uncertainties in such relationships.

This has led to the development of new methods such as;

Automated Plate Load Test (APLT)
Integrated Plate Load Tester (IPLT)
Description of the Method – Field Operation
1. A bearing plate (square or circular and 25 mm thick) is placed in the test pit.
The size of the bearing plate chosen for a test depends on:
1. Type of soil
Square plate of 45 cm size - clayey or silty soil, loose to
medium-dense sandy soils having SPT< 15
Square plate of 30–75 cm - dense sandy or gravelly soil (SPT 15 – 30)

2. Maximum size of grains

Test pit
Depth – depth of foundation
Width – five times the size of bearing plate

2. The test plate is loaded with the help of a hydraulic jack, using either a gravity loading
frame or truss loading frame to bear the reaction.
Gravity loading method of the plate

The loading frame rests on the columns built

on the sides of the test pit.

The loading frame is loaded with sand bags,

rocks, or concrete blocks.

The applied load is transmitted to the ground

using an extension pipe and through the bearing
plate.

Dial gauges are placed to the bearing plate to

measure the settlement. Dial gauges (or in
recent times) transducers are used to measure
the amount of settlement on the ground caused
by the reaction load. They are connected to a
datum bar and then are connected to the plate.

 The applied load is controlled using a

hydraulic jack placed between the loading frame
and the extension pipe.
Truss loading method of the plate

The truss is adequately anchored to the

ground using mild steel anchors and a
holder channel.

Truss loading method is of less

complex nature.

Preferable choice for Engineers.

The test plate is placed in such a way that the centre of test plate,
hydraulic jack, and the loading frame coincide with each other.
Test Procedure – Preparatory Work

Select test location and depth at the proposed foundation location. If the test is
performed in a test pit, the width of the pit should be at least 4 to 5 times that of the
plate diameter.

Carefully trim off and remove all loose material and any embedded fragments so that
the area for the plate is generally level and as undisturbed as possible.

The plate should be placed on a thin layer (10 to 15 mm thick) of clean dry sand to
produce a level surface on which to bed the plate.
Test Procedure – Loading
There are two methods in which the plate could be loaded:
Constant rate of penetration method – suitable for undrained loading properties
Incremental load method – suitable for drained loading properties

If incremental method is selected; loading is conducted in established small

incremental steps by means of a hydraulic jack pushing against the counter weight
until reaching the maximum test load.

The load on soil is increased in increments (20% of the estimated safe load or 1/10th
of the ultimate load).

Unloading should also be done in backward incremental steps. The load at every step
is read from the proving ring.

If constant rate method is selected, loading is done continuously at a constant rate
and settlement measurements are taken at time intervals.
Test Procedure – Test Completion Criteria

 The test is continued till a settlement of 25 mm under normal circumstances

or 50 mm in special cases (such as dense gravel, and sand mixture) is
obtained or till failure occurs, whichever is earlier. Otherwise, the limit is
FOS×qall estimated for full scale foundations.

Settlements are read from the dial gauges placed on the plate. A minimum of
3 dial gauges should be placed 120° apart, so there is a fair measurement of
the settlement on the entire plate, and the average settlement is taken.

Load vs. settlement curve is plotted.

Determination of Soil Properties from
Plate Load Test

Modulus of subgrade reaction (ks)

Modulus of elasticity (Es)

These parameters can be

Resilient Modulus (Mr ) evaluated from load-
This is the ratio of applied stress and deformation plots obtained
recoverable strain. It is a fundamental input from the testing data.
parameter in pavement design (cyclic load
condition)

Allowable bearing pressure (qall)

Bearing pressure
It is classified depending on the way in which the test is performed;
Testing until shear failure – ultimate bearing pressure can be determined
Testing based on the working pressure at a stated permissible settlement

Shear failure criteria

Curve I is typical for loose to medium non-cohesive
soils. It can be seen that initially this curve is a straight
line, but as the load increases it flattens out. There is no
clear point of shear failure.
Curve II is typical for cohesive soils. This may not be
quite straight in the initial stages and leans towards
settlement axis as the settlement increases.
Curve III is typical for partially cohesive soils.
Curve IV is typical for purely dense non-cohesive soil.

Settlement criteria
Terzaghi & Peck
The typical load settlement
curve for the plate load test in
different types of soil
Measurements, Processing and Presentation of Data
Interpretation of Results
Load settlement curve is observed.

If it is nearly linear, then the soil has not yielded and not reached
ultimate capacity.

This is mostly the case when the test is carried out to confirm a pre-
determined bearing capacity, rather than to determine the ultimate
bearing capacity. In this case, it can be calculated that the soil is safe
with respect to the specified working pressure.

Otherwise, if the test is carried up to shear failure of the soil, it can be

observed that the curve turns considerably towards the settlement axis.

In that case, the limiting value is the load corresponding to allowable
settlement, with is based on the particular application and design code,
or 25 mm as traditionally used.
Advantages
 Very useful as a test that gives instant results on the field, without the
need for sample collection and laboratory analysis.

 It can be used a good quality control test on the field.

 Being able to understand the foundation behavior under loading

conditions.

• Time and cost-efficient.

• Reliable.
Limitations
• Only initial settlement can be determined (no consolidation
settlement)

• Effect of loading is limited to a depth of (2 x plate dimension) and

not to the depth the actual footing would take the load

• Need to apply correction for granular soil

• If soil is not homogeneous to a considerable depth, results can be

misleading
Case Study
• Project : Hulhumale Development Project – Phase 2
• Country : Maldives
• Type: Sea Reclamation for housing development
• Area : 244 ha
• Contractor : Dredging International
• Test Agency : Engineering & Laboratory Services Pvt) Ltd.

Scope of Works

Dredging and reclamation works

Coastal protection works

Tests to determine compliance with the specifications

Scope of Testing
• To ensure that the reclaimed area is in conformity with the required compaction level
• Requirement – finished reclamation area should have;
▫ Minimum dry density of 85% (degree of compaction); and
▫ Minimum bearing capacity of 150 kPa
• For degree of compaction
▫ Field density test to measure in-situ density
▫ Standard Proctor Test to determine maximum dry density in a laboratory
• For bearing capacity
▫ Plate Bearing Test (Plate Load Test)
Plate Load Test
• In accordance with BS 1377: Part 9: Section 4.1
• Test location is leveled and loose material removed
• Load applied through a 300mm diameter plate by a 30-ton hydraulic jack
• Three dial gauges placed at 120-degrees apart
• Load of 452kPa applied in 5 equal increments and unloaded to zero in 3 steps
• Load maintained until settlement < 0.03mm/min
• Load and settlement readings taken at each step

Observations
• Load-settlement graphs for all ten locations is nearly linear
• Soil has not reached yielding up to 452kPa
• Ultimate carrying capacity is higher than 452kPa
• For sands, ultimate capacity increases with foundation width
• Assumptions
▫ Effect of water table on foundation is similar to that on plate
▫ Failure mode of foundation is similar to that of plate

Conclusion
• A footing wider than the plate constructed at the test locations and having a
vertical working stress of 150kPa will have FOS > 3 against shear failure
Photographs
References
• Anyang, M & Atarigiya, Brendan & Ofori-Addo, Richard & Allotey, N.
(2018). Plate Load Test: Getting it Right.

• ASTM D1194-94: Standard Test Method for Bearing Capacity of Soil for
Static Load and Spread Footings

• BS 1377: Part 9: 1990

• EN 1997-3:2000: Eurocode 7: Geotechnical design – Part 3: Design assisted

by field testing

• History of Plate Load Test (https://www.geosynthetica.com/aplt-

geostructural-characterization-foundations/, accessed 13.08.2020)

• BOWLES, J. E. (2012). Foundation analysis and design. New York,

McGraw-Hill.
Thank you