A Study of p-S Curve on the Plate Sinkage Test to the Cohesive Soils

Abstract

Although the linear relationship between contact pressure p and sinkage S on the double logarithmic graph has been widely used for the treatment of the sinkage data, there is a problem in terms of accuracy to express the relationship by a single power function since there exists broken point around 0.67 times of the ultimate bearing capacity.
A method of non-linear regression for the p-S relationships using a exponential function similar to the one which applied by Janosi for the shearing curve of soils is presented.
By this method, the scale effect, which is the important factor in discussing the sinkage of vehicles and the motion resistance, can be simply expressed by propotioning the shape factor to the dimension of the plate.