# Plate Size Effects in Gravelly Soil Based on In Situ Plate Load Tests and Finite Element Analysis
## 6 Conclusions  
Based on the results of the in situ PLT, finite element software was used to analyze the PLT for various diameters in gravelly soil, leading to the following conclusions:  
1. The \(K_{s}\) of the gravelly soil was inversely related to the foundation width (to the first degree), which is consistent with [PERSON]'s formula for extrapolating the subgrade modulus of a plate in clay to the prototype foundation size. Furthermore, this relationship was not constrained by foundation width.  
2. The effect of test plate diameter on the secant modulus \(E_{PLT}\) was relatively small. With increasing diameter, \(E_{PLT}\) maintained consistent stability, with an average value of 532 MPa, roughly 92% of the elastic modulus.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline
**Reference** & **Equation for \(K_{s}\)** & **Exponent \(n\)** & **Comment** \\ \hline [PERSON] [25] & 1 & Clay \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Foundation width \(B\leq 3\)\(B_{p}\) \\ \cline{2-3} JRA [22] & 3/4 & NAN \\ \cline{2-3} [PERSON] [28] & \(K_{s}=K_{p}\Big{(}\frac{B_{p}}{B}\Big{)}^{n}\) & 1 & Clay \\ \cline{2-3} Fukushima [29] & 1 & Gravelly crushed stone \\ \cline{2-3} [PERSON] [9] & 0.5 & Sandy \\ \hline [PERSON] [30] & 3/4 & NAN \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 4: The relationship between the \(K_{S}\) and foundation width \(B\).  
3. The diameter of the test plate had a certain influence on the macroscopic changes in the average contact stress-settlement curves. Analysis of the \(\Delta s/\Delta p\) suggests that the average contact stress-settlement curves of test plates with varying diameters followed the same fundamental development pattern.  
4. With increasing test plate diameter, the ultimate load in the elastic state remained at 1 MPa, whereas the ultimate load in the yield state increased and eventually stabilized, reaching a final stable value of 4.6 MPa.  
In this study, plate load tests (PLT) were conducted on undisturbed gravel soil, and numerical analysis methods were used for an in-depth investigation of its loading response. Future research can build upon this study to further explore the loading response characteristics of gravel soil foundations, providing theoretical support for the design and calculation of laterally loaded foundations.  
Conceptualization: W.L., Q.T. and W.G.; Methodology: R.G., C.L. and G.D.; Software: W.L.; Validation: W.L., Q.T. and W.G; Formal Analysis: W.L.; Investigation: W.L., W.G. and Q.T.; Resources: Q.T., W.G. and R.G.; Data Curation: W.L., Q.T. and W.G.; Writing--Original Draft Preparation: W.L.; Writing--Review and Editing: W.L., Q.T., W.G. and G.D.; Visualization: W.L.; Supervision: C.L. and W.G.; Funding Acquisition: Q.T., W.G., G.D. and C.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52378328, 52208333, and 52178317) and the Research Fund for Advanced Ocean Institute of Southeast University (Key Program KP202404; Major Program GP202403).  
Not applicable.  
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors upon request.  
Authors [PERSON] and [PERSON] was employed by the company Sichuan Highway Planning, Survey, Design and Research Institute Ltd. Author [PERSON] was employed by the company Sichuan Transportation Construction Group Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.