Hideaki Tanahashi

Pasternak Model Formulation of Elastic Displacements in the Case of a Rigid Circular Foundation

Abstract The classical Winkler model has often been used in many engineering fields. However, it has some shortcomings, because the adjacent displacements are discontinuous. In this paper, the Pasternak model — an improved continuum model — is applied to the surface displacement distribution analysis of an elastic layer with a finite depth in an axisymmetric condition. The parameters of the Pasternak model are determined by comparing its surface displacement distributions with those of a finite element analysis. On the basis of the results, the author proposes the non–dimensional characteristic values for the Pasternak model with a simple closed–form formulation of surface displacement distributions in the case of a rigid circular foundation on an elastic layer with a finite depth. The author then discusses the accuracy of the approximate formulation and the limits of its applicability.