Dynamic Strip Load on Elastic-Plastic Soil

Abstract

A numerical procedure is applied to study the transient response of a footing on an elastic-perfectly plastic medium. The failure criterion and constitutive relationship used are thought to be realistic for a saturated clay. The analysis gives streses, displacements and the development and propagation of the plastically yielded zone beneath the footing. The effects of several parameters are outlined. A nondimensional diagram is presented to show the influence of pulse intensity and duration on peak response. The computed dynamic peak stress-peak displacement curve is compared to the corresponding static curve and to experimental results. From the computations it is possible to separate the effects of inertia and soil strain-rate effect on the dynamic response. In practical situations, the inertia of the soil reduces the footing displacements only for very large peak applied pressures, and if the duration of the load pulse is extremely short.