Application of the generalised scaling law to saturated ground Available to Purchase

To verify and find issues on the generalised scaling law for dynamic centrifuge tests, a series of centrifuge model tests are conducted under the scheme of the modelling of models technique. In a series of dynamic tests on a flat, saturated sand layer, four different centrifugal accelerations from 5 g to 70 g are applied to the scaled models for which the prototype is uniquely given. With the scaling law, the prototype is scaled down to 1/100. The models are exposed to sinusoidal input accelerations with 0·65 Hz and amplitudes of 2·1 m/s² and 3·1 m/s² in prototype scale. For response during shaking, nearly identical accelerations and excess pore-water pressure build-ups are recorded for all the cases in the prototype scale. Discrepancies are found on surface settlements and duration time for dissipation of excess pore-water pressure. The major cause of the discrepancy may be the small value of the shear modulus induced by the low confining stress in model ground under low centrifugal acceleration.