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Estimation of base settlement from the surface subsidence profile: Plane‐field of displacements
Author(s) -
Baxevanis Theocharis,
Plexousakis Michael
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international journal for numerical and analytical methods in geomechanics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.419
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1096-9853
pISSN - 0363-9061
DOI - 10.1002/nag.760
Subject(s) - mathematical analysis , mathematics , nonlinear system , diffusion equation , differential equation , partial differential equation , boundary value problem , geometry , physics , engineering , metric (unit) , operations management , quantum mechanics
According to Litwiniszyn's theory, subsidence over a yielding underground geo‐structure is seen as a stochastic (Markov) process. This theory leads to a single, linear parabolic differential equation of diffusion–convection type (D–C equation) in the plane‐field of displacements. If the boundary conditions for the governing D–C equation are prescribed along the shear bands, i.e. at ‘moving’ boundaries—it has been observed from small‐scale model experiments that the subsiding process is always confined between a set of inclined shear bands—then the resulting equation is nonlinear. The inverse problem for this nonlinear equation, i.e. the problem of determining the base displacement using the surface subsidence as ‘initial’ condition, is ill‐posed and estimation of the base displacement from a given surface subsidence profile is not possible. In the present paper the domain of integration of the governing D–C equation is fixed (and bounded)—the boundaries are not evolving. Hence, the governing equation remains linear parabolic. The advantage is that this linear differential equation admits an analytical solution, under the trap‐door mechanism assumption, that enables a direct solution to the inverse problem. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.