Elastic Analysis of Plates Resting on Elastic Half-Space Considering the Local Segregation Between Plate and Foundation

It is one of classical problems in the elastic theory to analyze contact stresses between elastic bodies. Concrete pavements under traffic wheel loads can be considered as one of these typical problems. In this paper, an elastic plate resting on tensionless elastic half-space is analyzed by finite element method. The Boussinesq's solution of elastic half-space is used to evaluate the flexibility of foundation. One of the principal difficulties in solving the local seperation phenomena between plate and foundation is that the geometry of the system is unknown. To obtain the boundary of contact area, the flexibility matrix of foundation is modified after each cycle of analysis iteratively. Some numerical examples are presented by using these method.