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Transfer matrix solutions to axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric consolidation of multilayered soils

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Abstract

Transfer matrix solutions are presented in this paper to study the axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric consolidation of a multilayered soil system under an arbitrary loading. Starting with the governing equations for consolidation problems of saturated soils, the relationship of displacements, stresses, excess pore water pressure, and flux between the points at the depth z, and on the ground surface (z = 0) is established in a transformed domain by introducing the displacement functions and using the integral transform technique. Then the transfer matrix method is used with the boundary conditions to obtain the analytical solutions in the transformed domain for the multilayered soil system. Numerical inversion of the integral transform of these analytical solutions results in the solutions for the actual problems. The numerical results for axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric Biot’s consolidation problems of a single layer and a multi-layered soil system are obtained and compared with existing results by others.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, 20092, Shanghai, China

    Zhi Yong Ai & Quan Sheng Wang

  2. Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA

    Jie Han

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  1. Zhi Yong Ai
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  2. Quan Sheng Wang
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  3. Jie Han
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Correspondence to Zhi Yong Ai.

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Ai, Z.Y., Wang, Q.S. & Han, J. Transfer matrix solutions to axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric consolidation of multilayered soils. Acta Mech 211, 155–172 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00707-009-0224-x

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