Evaluation of the contact pressure and response of a buried structure with a flat roof

Abstract

The paper presents a model to analyze the response of a buried structure to surface loading, which is based on a discrete-continuous concept, taking into consideration a possible variation of the soil arching coefficient with depth. The structure and the soil are represented by equivalent two degree of freedom and one-dimensional column system. The shear soil resistance is represented by a vertical friction traction that depends on the relative displacement between the column and the free field. At the bottom, the system is supported by a semi-infinite medium. An analytical solution for the mid-roof deflection and average contact pressure has been derived and verified against published experimental results. Examination of the effects of the soil parameters on the mid-roof deflection demonstrates their different weights in the analysis. The present model may be used for future solutions of corresponding dynamic problems, for which the variation of the arching coefficient with depth is especially important.