Preface

The main scope of this book is to present the established analytical and experimental techniques to address the dynamic responses of elastic as well as porous half-space media when they are subjected to dynamic loads and the related topics in a concise and suitable manner. The book introduces the reader to the dynamic response of the surface of an elastic half-space excited by concentrated vertical or tangential force. Based on the presented analyses, it also addresses the dynamic response of a rigid massless footing of arbitrary shape resting on the surface of an elastic half-space medium for three modes of vertical, horizontal, and rocking vibrations. The book also presents solutions to the three pure modes of vibration for massive rectangular foundations by employing the impedance matching technique and provides design charts for these modes of vibrations. The solution for these modes is extended to develop a solution to the dynamics of simultaneous horizontal and rocking motions of a rectangular foundations resting on the surface of elastic half-space medium. Moreover, the book presents the required theoretical background needed for analysis of interaction of two rectangular foundations founded on the surface of an elastic half-space. In addition to the theoretical topics, the book describes a finite model to simulate an elastic half-space and introduces experimental techniques to verify the presented solution. Furthermore, experimental methods are presented to determine the two important elastic properties of shear modulus and Poisson’s ratio for the medium. In order to verify the present theoretical results some experiments, procedures, and results are also provided. This book presents the required theoretical background needed to develop mathematical models and their solutions for the above topics. Furthermore, it offers the engineering information and quantitative data needed for design analysis and applications of the presented analytical procedures for different disciplines such as: mechanical, civil, and bioengineering. The book in its entirety constitutes as an extensive guidance for its reader. It also provides a systematic solution for the dynamic analysis of elastic, porous, and layered half-space media. It also extends the provided analytical solution to address a variety of practical problems in engineering and to determine the essential elastic properties of the medium. The book is intended to lay the foundation for understanding mathematical modeling, vibration analysis,