Development of a low-cost geotechnical model testing facility

Abstract

Physical modelling is often used to investigate geotechnical problems where prototype investigations are rather difficult, uneconomical and time-consuming. However, the establishment of a small-scale physical model test (SSPMT) facility in which complex loading (e.g. different types of cyclic loading) needs to be applied could involve high cost and require a great deal of effort. This paper presents the construction of a low-cost SSPMT facility along with the development of a control and data acquisition software. Also, the working mechanism and operation procedure of this test facility are briefly discussed. By simply using air pressure, this independent system is capable of applying different types of cyclic load on a model footing in both vertical and lateral directions individually or concurrently. The flexibility, strengths and weaknesses of this test facility are also discussed and some recommendations for its improvement are proposed. Finally, the applicability and reliability of this SSPMT facility is demonstrated through two groups of model tests carried out to investigate the performance of a strip footing near sloped fill under vertical cyclic loading only and a square footing subjected to concurrent vertical and lateral cyclic loading.