TRANSIENT-RESPONSE OF A GROUP OF RIGID STRIP SURFACE FOUNDATIONS

A numerical procedure is proposed to investigate the transient respons e of a group of rigid strip foundations resting on an elastic, homogen eous half-space subjected to either external forces or seismic motions . A fundamental solution is presented for uniform strip loadings with Heaviside function time-dependence applied on the half-space. In the p rocedure, each of the foundations is discretized into subelements. The tractions between the half-space and the subelements are assumed cons tant at every time step. The through-soil coupling effects between the foundations are studied numerically.