Vertical Vibrations of a Rigid Foundation Embedded in a Poroelastic Half Space

This paper considers the steady-state vertical vibrations of a rigid, cylindrical massive foundation embedded in a poroelastic soil. The foundation is subjected to time-harmonic vertical loading and is perfectly bonded to the surrounding soil. The contact surface between the foundation and the soil is assumed to be smooth and fully permeable. Biot's poroelastodynamic theory is used in the analysis. The soil underlying the foundation base is assumed to be a homogeneous poroelastic half space while the soil along the side of the foundation is assumed to consist of a series of infinitesimally thin layers. The dynamic interaction problem is solved by a simplified analytical method. The accuracy of the present solution is verified by comparisons with existing solutions for both elastodynamic and poroelastodynamic interaction problems. Selected numerical results for the vertical dynamic impedance and response factor of the rigid foundation are presented to demonstrate the influence of nondimensional frequency of excitation, depth ratio, mass ratio, shear modulus of the backfill, and poroelastic material properties on dynamic interaction between an embedded foundation and a poroelastic half space.