Drained Cyclic Response of Horizontal Circular Plate Anchors in Sand

This paper presents findings from a set of model scale experiments involving drained, vertical cyclic loading of a horizontal circular plate anchor in dense sand. The tests, which were performed in a geotechnical centrifuge in saturated dense sand, explored the effects of the mean cyclic load level, cyclic amplitude, and ordering of cyclic loading sequences. The cyclic amplitude had a more significant effect on the accumulated anchor displacement than the mean cyclic load. The data are used to develop expressions that generalize the evolution of accumulated anchor displacement with cycle number using functions that quantify the cyclic amplitude and mean load. Finally, a semianalytical method was outlined to calculate the accumulated anchor displacement under single or multiamplitude cyclic loading. This method adequately captured responses in these experiments.