Experimental investigation of the uplift behaviour of circular plate anchors embedded in sand

An experimental investigation of the uplift behaviour of relatively large scale model circular plate anchors up to 400 mm in diameter embedded in loose, medium-dense, and dense dry sand is described. Uplift capacity is strongly influenced by anchor diameter, embedment ratio, and sand density. In tests on shallow half-cut models, a gently curved rupture surface emerged from the top edge of the anchor to the sand surface at approximately ϕ/2 to the vertical, where ϕ is the angle of shearing resistance. For a deep anchor, a balloon-shaped rupture surface emerged at 0.8ϕ to the vertical immediately above the anchor and was confined within the sand bed. The load-displacement behaviour of full-shaped models was three-phase and two-phase for shallow and deep anchors, respectively. Alternative methods of determining the critical embedment ratio are considered, and values of 4.8, 5.9, and 6.8 are proposed for loose, medium-dense, and dense sand, respectively. Empirical equations are presented which yield breakout factors similar to those from many published laboratory and field studies.Key words: circular anchor, uplift capacity, sand, critical embedment ratio, failure mechanism.