Numerical Modelling of Plate Load Tests on Unsaturated Silt Loams in Laboratory Stands

Abstract

The paper summarizes the results of the numerical modelling of plate load tests on unsaturated silt loams in laboratory conditions using two different constitutive models and different software packages. The first part of the paper presents laboratory measurements on large specimens of compacted unsaturated silt loams with a constant degree of saturation during the experiments. It comments on the issues of the classical interpretations of static plate load tests including the influence zone theory and further issues with calibration of numerical models using the parameters gained from the classical approach. The second part of the paper dedicated to the problems of numerical modelling of these soils presents results of the Cam-Clay constitutive model modified for capturing the influence of the moisture content implemented in the SIFEL software package and results of the Hypoplastic constitutive model for clays implemented in the GEO 5 software package. The paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the advantages and drawbacks of both constitutive models in details and comments on the possible issues when using them for more topologically complex tasks.