The behaviour of an elastic non-homogeneous half-space. Part II–circular and strip footings

Solutions developed in the first part of this paper (i.e. describing the response of a non-homogeneous half-space subjected to surface point and line loads) are used in this part to obtain solutions for a variety of surface loadings. Consideration is given to a distributed load acting over a circular area or strip and a rigid disk or strip subjected to applied normal load and moment. It is established that the profiles of surface settlement due to uniformly distributed loads acting over a strip or circular area are strongly dependent on the degree of non-homogeneity. This dependency is reduced when the footing is rigid. When α = 1 the moduli variation is identical to the Gibson soil and the equivalence with the Winkler soil model is established.     

The behaviour of an elastic non-homogeneous half-space. Part I-line and point loads

In the first part of this paper solutions are developed for the response of a non-homogeneous half-space subjected to either a surface point load or a surface line load. The non-homogeneity considered is a variation in Young's modulus (E) with depth (z) which takes the form E=m_EZ^α where m_E is a constant and α is referred to as the non-homogeneity parameter. The variation of these solutions as the non-homogeneity parameter α varies between the limits of zero (homogeneous soil) to unity (Gibson soil) gives some fresh insight into both these limiting cases.     

THE SETTLEMENT OF A RIGID CIRCULAR FOUNDATION RESTING ON A HALF-SPACE EXHIBITING A NEAR SURFACE ELASTIC NON-HOMOGENEITY

The present paper examines the elastostatic problem pertaining to the axisymmetric loading of a rigid circular foundation resting on the surface of a non-homogeneous elastic half-space. The non-homogeneity corresponds to a depth variation in the linear elastic shear modulus according to the exponential form G(z)=G₁+G₂e^-ζz. The equations of elasticity governing this type of non-homogeneity are solved by employing a Hankel transform technique. The mixed boundary value problem associated with the indentation of the half-space by the rigid circular foundation is reduced to a Fredholm integral equation which is solved via a numerical technique. The numerical results presented in the paper illustrate the influence of the near-surface elastic non-homogeneity on the settlement of the foundation.     

Dynamic Green's functions for an anisotropic poroelastic half-space

The dynamic responses of an anisotropic poroelastic half-space under an internal point load and fluid source are investigated in the frequency domain in this paper. By virtue of Fourier transform and Stroh formalism, the three-dimensional (3D) general solutions of the anisotropic Biot's coupling dynamics equations are derived in the frequency domain. Considering the two surface conditions, permeable and impermeable, the analytical solutions for displacement fields and pore pressure in half-space under a point source (point load or a fluid source) are obtained. When the material properties are isotropic, the numerical results of the poroelastic half-space are in excellent agreement with the existing analytical solutions. For anisotropic half-space cases, numerical results show the strong dependence of the dynamic Green's functions on the material properties.     

In-plane vibrations of soil deposits with variable shear modulus: II. Line load

The dynamic response of an inhomogeneous, linear-elastic half-space to a time-harmonic vertical line load on its surface is studied. The mass density and the Poisson's ratio are assumed to be constant and the shear modulus to increase continuously with depth according to a function which is bounded at infinity. This model can describe a wide range of uniformly deposited soil strata. Analytical solutions for the displacement field at the surface are obtained using the classical contour integration method by means of the residue theorem. The dependence of the displacement field on distance from the source, frequency and shear modulus variation is examined as well as the relative contribution of the higher surface wave vibration modes to the total displacement.     

竖向圆形荷载作用下弹性地基半空间问题的解析解

竖向圆形荷载作用下弹性半空间问题的位移和应力解是桩基分析的基础。利用Hankel积分变换,首先导出了弹性地基半空间位移与应力的积分形式的通解。通过适当地引入边界条件和界面位移和应力的连续条件,求得了内部作用竖向圆形荷载时弹性地基半空间位移与应力的积分形式解。在此基础上,给出了不同深度处荷载作用投影范围内竖向位移和竖向正应力的平均值。数值结果验证了解析解的正确性。     

PROPAGATION OF TORSIONAL SURFACE WAVES IN A HOMOGENEOUS SUBSTRATUM OVER A HETEROGENEOUS HALF-SPACE

The paper discusses the propagation of torsional surface wave in a homogeneous substratum over a half-space with linearly varying rigidity and density. The study reveals that under assumed conditions, a torsional surface wave propagates in the medium. The velocities of torsional surface waves have been calculated numerically and are presented in a number of graphs. It is also observed that for a stratum over a homogeneous half-space, the velocity of torsional surface waves coincides with that of Love waves. For a non-homogeneous half-space it is observed that the velocity of torsional surface waves is always higher than that of Love waves propagated in a homogeneous layer over a homogeneous half-space. An attempt is also made to assess the possible propagation of torsional surface waves in a half-space with linearly varying rigidity and density, lacking a superficial layer. It is concluded that such a half-space allows two solutions for torsional waves while a homogeneous half-space has one.     

Torsional piles in non-homogeneous media

The torsional response of a pile exhibits features which are a mixture of those for axial and lateral response. At low load levels, the response is dominated by interaction with the upper soil layers and by the pile rigidity itself, similar to laterally loaded piles. However, failure will generally occur by the whole pile twisting, and so the latter part of the response incorporates the integrated effect of all soil penetrated by the pile, as is the case for axial loading.

In view of the above, solutions for the torsional response of pile must endeavour to incorporate accurate modelling of the soil stiffness profile, and also pay appropriate attention to the gradual development of slip (relative twist) between pile and soil. The paper presents analytical and numerical solutions for the torsional response of piles embedded in non-homogeneous soil, where the stiffness profile follows a simple power law with depth. The solutions encompass: (1) vertical non-homogeneity of soil expressed as a power law; (2) non-linear soil response, modelled using a hyperbolic stressstrain law; (3) effect of relative slip between pile and soil for non-homogeneous stiffness and limiting shaft friction; (4) expressions for the critical pile slenderness ratio (or length) beyond which the pile head response becomes independent of the pile length.

The solutions are developed using a load transfer approach, with each soil layer acting independently from neighbouring layers, and are expressed in terms of Bessel functions of non-integer order, and as simple non-dimensionalised charts. The solutions are applied to two well-documented case histories in the latter part of the paper.     

Response of circular footings and anchor plates in non-homogeneous elastic soils

The axisymmetric elastic response of circular footings and anchor plates in a linearly non-homogeneous elastic soil is analysed. It is assumed that footings/anchors are flexible and subjected to axisymmetric vertical loads. The response of the footing/anchor is modelled by using the classical Poisson–Kirchhoff thin plate theory. A variational technique is used to analyse the interaction problem. A representation for the contact stress is established by using a fundamental solution corresponding to a unit vertical pressure acting over an annular region in the interior of the non-homogeneous soil. The fundamental solution can be derived by using rigorous analytical procedures. The influence of the footing flexibility and the degree of soil non-homogeneity on the displacements, bending moments and contact stresses of a surface footing is examined over a wide range of governing parameters. In the case of anchor plates the influence of depth of embedment, degree of soil non-homogeneity and anchor flexibility on the anchor displacement is investigated.     

Displacements under linearly distributed pressures by extended Mindlin’s equations

Analytical elasticity solutions provide an efficient means of performing a first approximate analysis in foundation engineering. One of the well-known solutions is Mindlin’s solution to the stress and displacement induced by a point load at an embedment depth in a half-space. This solution is more superior but less widely used than Boussinesq’s solution. To promote this situation, Mindlin’s displacement equations are integrated to obtain a complete set of explicit formulae for calculating the displacements at an arbitrary point. The displacements are induced by uniformly and triangularly distributed horizontal or vertical pressures, which are exerted over a horizontal or vertical rectangular area in the interior of a homogeneous, isotropic, elastic half-space. These formulae facilitate the future development of computer programs for the analysis of related practical problems in foundation engineering.     

Computing Displacements in Transversely Isotropic Rocks Using Influence Charts

Summary  This paper presents a simple graphical method for computing the displacement beneath/at the surface of a transversely isotropic half-space subjected to surface loads. The surface load can be distributed on an irregularly-shaped area. The planes of transverse isotropy are assumed to be parallel to the horizontal surface of the half-space. Based on the point load solutions presented by the authors, four influence charts are constructed for calculating the three displacements at any point in the interior of the half-space. Then, by setting z=0 of the derived solutions, another four influence charts for computing the surface displacements can also be proposed. These charts are composed of unit blocks. Each unit block is bounded by two adjacent radii and arcs, and contributes the same level of influence to the displacement. Following, a theoretical study was performed and the results showed that the charts for interior displacements are only suitable for transversely isotropic rocks with real roots of the characteristic equation; however, the charts for surface displacements are suitable for all transversely isotropic rocks. Finally, to demonstrate the use of the new graphical method, an illustrative example of a layered rock subjected to a uniform, normal circular-shaped load is given. The results from the new graphical method agree with those of analytical solutions as well. The new influence charts can be a practical alternative to the existing analytical or numerical solutions, and provide results with reasonable accuracy.     

The Boussinesq problem for soils with bounded non-homogeneity

The response of a compressible continuously non-homogeneous elastic soil to a static vertical point load on its surface is analytically investigated by using classical integral transform techniques and the extended power series method for obtaining the solution in the transform domain. The non-homogeneity is described by means of a depth-function which is non-zero at the surface and bounded at infinity and is capable in modelling both increasing and decreasing soil stiffness with depth. The influence of non-homogeneity on the displacements and stresses at the surface and in the interior is examined over a wide range on the governing parameters. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vertical and horizontal deformation of an inhomogeneous elastic half-space

Vertical and horizontal deformations of surface footings have been studied for an inhomogeneous elastic half-space in which the shear modulus increases with an arbitrary power of depth, n, and Poisson's ratio is constant. A general solution for displacements has been obtained first for point loads applied in vertical and horizontal directions. These are then used in obtaining closed-form solutions for displacements of uniformly loaded circular and rectangular footings. Finally, a numerical method is described that can be used to analyse a rigid footing of an arbitrary shape, and results for rigid rectangular footings are given.     

Vertical deformation of rigid foundations of arbitrary shape on layered soil media

A numerical procedure is described for the analysis of vertical deformation of smooth, rigid foundations of arbitrary shape on homogeneous and layered soil media. The contact area at the interface of the foundation and soil medium is approximated by square subdivisions. The response of the system is then obtained from the superposition of the influence of the individual subdivisions. The flexibility influence coefficients are based on equivalent smooth, rigid circular areas with the same contact area as the square subdivisions. For foundations on a homogeneous, isotropic elastic half-space, the flexibility coefficients are given analytically by the integrated forms of the Boussinesq's solution. For a layered soil medium, the flexibility coefficients are determined from an axisymmetric finite element analysis which is essentially two dimensional. Thus, there is no necessity for a full three-dimensional finite element analysis. Comparison with solutions obtained using the integral transform technique for smooth, rigid rectangular foundations on a homogeneous, isotropic elastic half-space shows good agreement. Parametric solutions are presented for the response of rectangular foundations on some ‘typical’ soil profiles. The use of a simplified method to estimate the settlement of rectangular foundations on a layered soil medium by superposing solutions for homogeneous, elastic strata is discussed.     

Elastic solutions for a transversely isotropic half-space subjected to a point load

We rederive and present the complete closed-form solutions of the displacements and stresses subjected to a point load in a transversely isotropic elastic half-space. The half-space is bounded by a horizontal surface, and the plane of transverse isotropy of the medium is parallel to the horizontal surface. The solutions are obtained by superposing the solutions of two infinite spaces, one acting a point load in its interior and the other being free loading. The Fourier and Hankel transforms in a cylindrical co-ordinate system are employed for deriving the analytical solutions. These solutions are identical with the Mindlin and Boussinesq solutions if the half-space is homogeneous, linear elastic, and isotropic. Also, the Lekhnitskii solution for a transversely isotropic half-space subjected to a vertical point load on its horizontal surface is one of these solutions. Furthermore, an illustrative example is given to show the effect of degree of rock anisotropy on the vertical surface displacement and vertical stress that are induced by a single vertical concentrated force acting on the surface. The results indicate that the displacement and stress accounted for rock anisotropy are quite different for the displacement and stress calculated from isotropic solutions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

瑞利波在非均匀饱和地基中的传播特性

考虑地基横观各向同性和非均匀性,建立孔隙率、密度、剪切模量及渗透系数同时随深度变化的非均匀饱和地基模型,模型中考虑参数间的耦连影响,并引入非均匀因子表征地基的不均匀程度。基于Biot多孔介质理论建立以土骨架位移和孔隙水压力为基本未知量的控制方程,采用微分算子法对控制方程进行解耦求解,推导出非均匀饱和地基中瑞利波的频散方程。将推导结果分别退化到均匀饱和地基和单一弹性地基,验证了结果的正确性。通过数值算例,对非均匀饱和地基中瑞利波的传播速度、衰减系数及位移分布进行分析。结果表明：在低频区,饱和地基的非均匀性对瑞利波传播速度、衰减和位移都有显著影响,质点运动轨迹也由此发生变化;随着频率的升高,这种影响逐渐减小,当频率趋于无穷大时,瑞利波速度收敛于弹性地基中的波速;地基非均匀性增大了瑞利波的传播阻抗性,瑞利波位移加速衰减,传播深度小于均匀饱和地基。随着非均匀性增大,质点竖向位移的衰减快于水平位移,这种差异造成质点椭圆运动轨迹的扁率减小。此外,地基中非均匀土层厚度越小,则地基非均匀程度越高,对瑞利波的传播影响越大。     

Transient response of reservoir–dam–soil systems to earthquakes

A direct time-domain numerical procedure is proposed to analyse the transient dynamic response of two-dimensional reservoir–dam–soil systems. The reservoir extends to infinity and the dam is supported by an unbounded soil. The structure with either linear or non-linear material properties is modelled by the Finite Element Method (FEM). The soil is assumed to be an elastic, isotropic and homogeneous half-space represented by a boundary condition in the form of generalized impedance determined by the transient Lamb's solution due to a uniformly distributed traction imposed on the free surface, Guan and Novak.¹ Moreover, a technique is developed to include the influence of the reservoir on the dam in terms of nodal accelerations along their interface at different time steps. The advantages of the proposed procedure are obvious. For example, it avoids any additional discretization of the boundaries except the soil–dam interface, and the influence matrix of the fluid is obtained explicitly using shape functions defined at the upstream face of the dam without the finite analysis of the reservoir so that it works very efficiently. Numerical results for a system consisting of reservoir, elastic dam and foundation subjected to the San Fernando, 1971 earthquake ground motion are presented.     

Elastic consolidation around a point sink embedded in a half-space with anisotropic permeability

The complete solution is presented for the transient effects of pumping fluid from a point sink embedded in a saturated, porous elastic half-space. It is assumed that the medium is homogeneous and isotropic with respect to its elastic properties and homogeneous but anisotropic with respect to the flow of pore fluid. The soil skeleton is modelled as a linear elastic material obeying Hooke's law, while the pore fluid is assumed to be incompressible with its flow governed by Darcy's law. The solution has been evaluated for a particular value of Poisson's ratio of the solid skeleton, i.e. 0.25, and the results have been presented graphically in the form of isochrones of excess pore pressure and surface profile for the half-space. The solutions presented may have application in practical problems such as dewatering operations in compressible soil and rock masses.     

Analytical solution for two-dimensional dynamic consolidation in frequency domain

An analytical solution to the two-dimensional wave propagation in fluid-saturated half-space subjected to a strip load with vertical harmonic oscillation at the surface is presented. The basic equations have been derived on the basis of Biot's linear theory of poro-elasticity and then solved using Fourier complex transform for the horizontal direction. The importance of a number of soil characteristics including compressibility, degree of saturation and soil permeability has been examined. It is shown that the effect of pore fluid is dominant only for fully saturated soils with incompressible solid grains and low permeability. For partially saturated, compressible or very permeable soils, the stresses would be mainly transferred to solid part and there will be considerable reduction in pore pressure amplitude.