Geotechnical physical modelling with centrifuge

Abstract

The first portuguesc centrifuge facility has been recently established at the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering. As at a national scale no experience whatsoever existed on the subject, both an introduction and the background to the proposed physical modeling technique is provided. Firstly, an informative insight into the principles of geotechnical centrifuge model testing is presented, together with a critical analysis of the available experimental techniques for studying geotechnical problems. Dimensional analysis is used to establish the relevant similarity conditions in the field of geotechnics.