ABSTRACT

The Larji Hydro-electric Power Project is presently under construction in Himachal Pradesh, a northern state of India. The project is comprised of a diversion structure (called a barrage), a head-race tunnel, and an underground powerhouse. The foundation area of the barrage is comprised of boulders of various sizes brought down by the river. Load deformation characteristics of the bouldery strata are required for the design of the foundation of the barrage. Plate load tests and pressure meter tests were conducted for this purpose. In addition to the tests carried out in the field, a numerical model of the bouldery strata was created using PFC3D and the values were compared. The paper describes the details of the plate load tests carried out in the field and the parametric studies carried out with the help of the model.