Vertical deformation of rigid foundations of arbitrary shape on layered soil media

Abstract A numerical procedure is described for the analysis of vertical deformation of smooth, rigid foundations of arbitrary shape on homogeneous and layered soil media. The contact area at the interface of the foundation and soil medium is approximated by square subdivisions. The response of the system is then obtained from the superposition of the influence of the individual subdivisions. The flexibility influence coefficients are based on equivalent smooth, rigid circular areas with the same contact area as the square subdivisions. For foundations on a homogeneous, isotropic elastic half‐space, the flexibility coefficients are given analytically by the integrated forms of the Boussinesq's solution. For a layered soil medium, the flexibility coefficients are determined from an axisymmetric finite element analysis which is essentially two dimensional. Thus, there is no necessity for a full three‐dimensional finite element analysis. Comparison with solutions obtained using the integral transform technique for smooth, rigid rectangular foundations on a homogeneous, isotropic elastic half‐space shows good agreement. Parametric solutions are presented for the response of rectangular foundations on some ‘typical’ soil profiles. The use of a simplified method to estimate the settlement of rectangular foundations on a layered soil medium by superposing solutions for homogeneous, elastic strata is discussed.