Vertical Vibration of a Flexible Foundation Resting on Saturated Layered Soil Half-Space

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the vertical vibration of a flexible foundation resting on a saturated layered soil half-space that consists of a dry soil layer and an underlying semi-infinite saturated soil. The problem is of the mixed boundary value type and, by means of the Hankel transform technique, the determination of dynamic compliance coefficient and contact stress distribution leads to a pair of dual integral equations. These equations are then reduced to a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind, which is solved by standard numerical procedure. Some limiting cases existing in the literature are revisited to validate the accuracy of the present solution. Extensive numerical results are presented to illustrate the influences of the thickness of the overlying dry soil, the foundation flexibility, and the shear modulus ratio between dry and underlying saturated soils on the dynamic responses of the flexible foundations.