Uplift mechanism of horizontal circular plate anchors under varying drainage conditions in sand

Abstract

This note presents the finite element implementation of coupled stress-pore fluid diffusion analysis to capture the effect of varying drainage conditions on the monotonic uplift capacity of horizontal circular plate anchors in sand. The numerical model incorporates the modified SANISAND constitutive model and a soft porous elastic element at the soil–anchor interface to capture the interface tension developing below the anchor during uplift. The numerical results were validated against centrifuge model test results, producing good agreements. The effectiveness of the numerical model is demonstrated by the failure mechanisms and excess pore pressure distributions around the plate under different drainage conditions.