It is suggested that allowable pressure should be selected such that maximum settlement of any individual foundation is 25 mm.

The loading to the test plate may be applied with the help of a hydraulic jack. The reaction of the hydraulic jack may be borne by either any of gravity loading methodor reaction truss method.

The settlement of the plate is measured with the help of sensitive dial gauges. For square plate, two dial gauges are used. The dial gauges are mounted on independently supported datum bar.

For simple spread footing on clayey soils, the allowable pressure should be such that the differential settlement does not exceed 1/300.

For clayey and silty soils and for loose medium dense sandy soils with N < 15, a 450 mm square plate or concrete block shall be used.

The bearing plate is either circular or square, made of mild steel of not less than 25 mm in thickness.

According to Polishin and Tokar (1957), brick masonry will crack due to differential settlement when the unit elongation amount to 0.005.

The plate load test essentially consists in loading a rigid plate at the foundation level, and determining the corresponding to each load increment.

The allowable maximum settlement for warehouse type of structure is 50 mm.

The bearing plate used varies in size from 300 to 750 mm with a chequered or grooved bottom.