Plate Bearing Test
If you need a plate bearing test anywhere in the UK we can help. Whether it’s a Crane or Pile Mat test or Geo-technical site analysis we can help. If you are not sure which test you require please contact us
Which Test do I need?
For Road or Car Park you will require the CBR values.
Is it a Granular material?
If Yes you need CBR using plate bearing test
If No you need CBR using insitu CBR test.
For Crane Hardstanding and Pile mat you will require a strength check
For this you require Plate bearing test.
What Is a Plate Loading Test or Plate Bearing Test?
It’s a soil in-situ load-bearing test used to determine the ground’s ultimate bearing capacity plus the possible settlement under a certain load. In a Plate Loading Test, comprehensive stress will be applied to the pavement or soil layer through rigid plates that are relatively large in size and then the deflections will be measured for different stress values. This deflection level is limited to a low value and will be in the 1.25mm-5mm order.
The site investigations for many projects often consider ground investigations at strength, depth, as well as the variability of the close surface ground to be crucial for the design plus operation of working platforms. Typically, the Plate Bearing Test is used in designing temporary working structures like pads for crane outriggers or working platforms for the construction machine called piling rigs. Approximately equivalent California Bearing Ratio values can be obtained from the sub grade reaction Modulus by using mathematical relationship.
How Is the Plate Bearing Test Carried Out?
This test follows the BS 1377 Part 9: 1990, which is describing in-situ test methods on soils for civil engineering purposes. This means tests that are done directly on soils in place as different from laboratory tests.
It generally involves loading a plate made of steel of a known diameter, then recording the settlements that correspond to the increment of each load. The load test will be gradually increased until the plate begins to settle rapidly. To get the value of the final bearing capacity soil, the total value of the load on this plate will be divided by the steel plate’s area. A safety factor is always applied in order to deliver the safe bearing soil capacity.
Where Is Plate Bearing Test Carried Out?
The test is often performed at the foundation level. This can either be in a shallow pit or on the surface. There are plates of different sizes up to 720 millimetres in diameter. The loading plate will be placed on the ground, then connected through the load cell to the reaction load. However, because the plates that are used in this test are larger in size (when compared to the California Bearing Ratio test), the Plate Bearing Test is ideal for testing aggregate backfills that are large since it needs a larger reaction load. Generally, a minimum of 15t tracked excavator or any other suitable plant is needed to be used as a reaction load.
Ready for a Plate Bearing Test?
You will be advised by our engineers on the required diameter of the plate that will match the expected design load as well as the reaction load required (the size of the excavator) that will be made available for our engineers on site. Typically, we will complete four to six tests in one day, which is subject to the conditions of the site, and we can give you the results of the test the following day.
If you want to book a test or have any questions that you would like to ask, feel free to contact us at any time.