Physical modelling of piles has been recognised as an effective tool to investigate the soil–pile interaction phenomenon. To conduct physical modelling tests on piles, different apparatuses such as calibration chambers, geotechnical centrifuges or frustum confining vessels (FCVs) could be employed. This study was designed to introduce the largest modified FCV ever built. To do this, the effects of boundary conditions, size of the apparatus and the bottom pressure on the FCV performance were examined using numerical and experimental approaches. The optimised dimensions of the FCV were determined using numerical simulations; then the modified FCV was built accordingly. The experimental stress distributions along the centreline of the apparatus showed a good agreement with the numerical results. Finally, the ability of the FCV testing method to predict the behaviour of axially loaded piles was examined by comparing static pile loading test measurements with numerical results. Given all results, it was concluded that the modified FCV built in this study could properly model the axially loaded piles' behaviour.

中文翻译：

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使用各种边界和界面条件优化截锥体限制容器

桩的物理建模已被公认为研究土-桩相互作用现象的有效工具。为了对桩进行物理建模测试，可以使用不同的设备，例如校准室、岩土离心机或截锥体限制容器 (FCV)。这项研究旨在介绍有史以来最大的改进型 FCV。为此，使用数值和实验方法检查了边界条件、设备尺寸和底部压力对 FCV 性能的影响。FCV 的优化尺寸是通过数值模拟确定的；然后相应地建造了修改后的FCV。沿装置中心线的实验应力分布与数值结果非常吻合。最后，FCV 测试方法预测轴向加载桩行为的能力通过比较静态桩加载测试测量与数值结果来检验。鉴于所有结果，得出的结论是，本研究中构建的改进型 FCV 可以正确模拟轴向加载桩的行为。