Vertical vibration of rigid strip footings on poroelastic soil layer of finite thickness

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical solution that describes the response to forced vertical vibrations of rigid strip footings founded on the surface of a poroelastic soil layer of finite thickness. To mathematically describe this mixed boundary value problem, we relax the boundary conditions and cast it as a pair of dual integral equations, which are transformed to a system of linear equations by means of Jacobi orthogonal polynomials. The system is solved numerically to provide the frequency-dependent footing compliance, and the associated nearby soil displacement. Results obtained with the model at hand underline the important contribution of standing waves to the response of the soil-foundation system, and draw the limits of existing solutions that consider the foundation soil as infinite half-space, where standing waves cannot form.