Consolidation effects on uplift capacity of shallow horizontal plate anchors in dilating sand

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of consolidation on a shallowly embedded horizontal plate anchor in medium dense and dense sand using centrifuge tests, where the loading rate was varied over four orders of magnitude. The experimental results show a 4.8 to 5.5 times increase in anchor capacity as the consolidation condition changes from drained to undrained, driven by a steadily increasing negative excess pore pressure with increasing loading rate. At the highest loading rate, under undrained conditions, the measured maximum negative excess pore pressures reaches a steady limit suggesting the occurrence of cavitation. This increase in anchor capacity with non-dimensional displacement rate is c..