Surface deflection of an elastic layer underlain by a rough rigid base and subject to symmetrical triangular loading (research note)

Presented in the paper are surface deflection factors for the case of a symmetrical triangular loading on an elastic layer underlain by a rough rigid base. For the plane strain problem considered, the stresses, expressed in terms of Fourier integrals, have been evaluated using 8-points Gaussian quadrature and the corresponding vertical strains were calculated using Hooke's law. By integrating the vertical strain along the whole depth of the elastic layer using Simpson's one-third rule, the surface deflection was obtained at various point along the surface of the elastic layer. The paper reveals that the surface deflection factors are sensitive to the relative layer thickness and to Poisson's ratio. Charts for determining the surface defection factors are presented for various relative layer thicknesses and two different values of Poisson's ratio of 0.5 and 0.3. (authors). 19 refs., 3 figs