Surface Loading over a Transversely Isotropic and Multilayered System with Imperfect Interfaces: Revisit Enhanced by the Dual-Boundary Strategy

Abstract

Layered structures in nature or created by humans are very common, and various numerical methods have been proposed to analyze them. In this paper, uniform surface loading over a transversely isotropic layered system with imperfect interfaces is analyzed. The governing equations of the layered system are first solved in terms of the cylindrical system of vector functions. The three popular methods, propagator matrix, stiffness matrix, and precise integration methods, are then introduced and investigated. Finally, analytical solutions are derived for the layered system with both perfect and imperfect interface conditions by introducing a novel dual-boundary strategy. Practical field examples, including the Georgia Tech full-scale pavement and the National Airport Pavement Test Facility (NAPTF) stations, indicate that the three methods can be applied to solve the response of the layered system to some extent. The propagator matrix method (PMM) is the most direct and fastest one, but it may fail under certain extreme conditions associated with the layered system, for example, the layered system with many imperfect interfaces. On the other hand, both the stiffness matrix method (SMM) and precise integration method (PIM) are very stable, even for the extreme layered system with many imperfect interfaces. For a quick prediction of pavement response, the PMM may be used, especially if the layered structure has at most one imperfect interface. If computational time is not an issue, either the SMM or PIM can be applied to perform the analysis.