Premium
Scaled boundary finite‐element analysis of a non‐homogeneous elastic half‐space
Author(s) -
Doherty James P.,
Deeks Andrew J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.421
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1097-0207
pISSN - 0029-5981
DOI - 10.1002/nme.706
Subject(s) - stiffness , finite element method , half space , elasticity (physics) , rotational symmetry , homogeneous , homogeneity (statistics) , mathematics , mathematical analysis , settlement (finance) , elastic modulus , boundary value problem , geometry , boundary (topology) , structural engineering , engineering , physics , computer science , statistics , payment , thermodynamics , combinatorics , world wide web
As a result of stresses experienced during and after the deposition phase, a soil strata of uniform material generally exhibits an increase in elastic stiffness with depth. The immediate settlement of foundations on deep soil deposits and the resultant stress state within the soil mass may be most accurately calculated if this increase in stiffness with depth is taken into account. This paper presents an axisymmetric formulation of the scaled boundary finite‐element method and incorporates non‐homogeneous elasticity into the method. The variation of Young's modulus ( E ) with depth ( z ) is assumed to take the form E = m E z α , where m E is a constant and αis the non‐homogeneity parameter. Results are presented and compared to analytical solutions for the settlement profiles of rigid and flexible circular footings on an elastic half‐space, under pure vertical load with αvarying between zero and one, and an example demonstrating the versatility and practicality of the method is also presented. Known analytical solutions are accurately represented and new insight regarding displacement fields in a non‐homogeneous elastic half‐space is gained. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.