Horizontal Stiffness of Arbitrarily Shaped Embedded Foundations

Abstract

Using a boundary element formulation, a systematic parametric study is performed on the static and dynamic horizontal stiffness of arbitrarily shaped rigid foundations embedded in a reasonably deep and homogeneous soil deposit. Results are presented for rectangular base shapes of aspect ratios up to 10, a wide range of embedment depths, three values of the Poisson ratio, and an ample range of frequencies. The height of the foundation sidewalls is varied parametrically between the two extremes of no sidewall and complete sidewall with height equal to embedment depth and in perfect contact with the surrounding soil. Results have been obtained for circular and triangular plan shapes as well, including cases of non‐uniform contact along the foundation perimeter. The results are presented in the form of simple and versatile analytical expressions and dimensionless graphs. Two examples illustrate their direct practical applicability.