L i :

iil
24,No' 2,115-140.
GrBsoN,R, E. (1974). G4otechnique

The analvticalmethodin soil mechanics

R. E. GIBSON' Dsc(Ery),FICE*

I should like, first, to thank the British Geotechnicalsociety for inviting me to deliver the
FourteenthRankineLectue, and then to thank PlofessorNash not only for his kind intro-
ductory remarks but also for his generoussupport and for the relative freedorr I have enjoyed
during my time at King,s college. It is also a pleasureto havethis opportunity to acknowledge
the heip and encouragementI receivedfrom ProfessorSkemptonwhile I wasat Imperial College
-and, indeed,this was most generouslygivenevenwhenI wasoccupiedelsewhere. To these
namesI shouldlike to add that of Dr cooling who allowedme while at the Building Research
station to learnsomemathematicsfrom Dr McNamee;and who alsorequiredme to engagein
field work betweenJanuary and March.

INTRODUCTION
I have entitled this Lectue'The analyticalmethod in soil mechanics'andthis raisesxhe
'analytical'. The oxford English
question of what meaning is to be given to the word
'the -l,
Di"tiooury definesanalysisas resolutionof anythingcomplexintg'9simple e19+9nts--
but in the seventeenthcentury a specialmeaning arosein the fle1do{-mathtmatics, which the
'the resolvingof problemsby reducingthem to equations'' -+
dictionaryrendersas
Resolution into simple elementsseemsto be instinctive and part of our everydayexperience,
but it is rarely a discrJtemental activity, and is attendedinvariably by synthesisas we proceed
from insight io consequences' Deliberate analysis,however,to be eflective,must haveregard
to the conscious abstraction from a situation of those elementswhich seem likely to have
significancein the context of our objectives. The elevation at which London Clay changesin
colour from brown to blue might, and very often would, be quite inconsequential;but not,--
perhaps,
- if we wereconcernedwith assessing the depthof openjoints and fissures'
judge-
Whin what seemsirrelevant has been discarded-and clearly this selectionrequires
ment and experience-a synthesisis neededwhich allows the remaining factols to be intef-
relatedand siructured. This synthesiscan oftenbe achieved by means of a model, but to be of
useit will haveto be one we can handlewith the meansat our disposal and be able to make
reasonablequalitatiye or quantitative predictionswithout a dispropoltionate amount of effort.
Theseconditionsare likely to be met, especiallyin the caseof a mathematicalmodel, only if
simplifications are introduced by idealizing to some extent the real situation. The choice of
.nha:tsimpliflcations to make will be guided by our prior expectationof the likely effect of each
on the predictions. It may be good tacticsand sometimesthe only feasiblecourseopen,to
ore.simplify the model and then study seriatim the influence of the discarded factors. A
sensitivity itudy of this kind, which enlargesthe notion of a parametric study, can deepen
lsight and sometimeswholly unexpectedresults emerge.
HaYing arrived at a tentative model by analysing,abstracting,synthesizingand idealizing, we
come to the secondsenseof the word analysis. The definition is inadequate, for although
iescn-binethe behaviour of the model in mathematicalterms is a necessaryflrst step-and this
' P,"c:essorof EnginerriEg Scietrce,King's Coll€ge, Unive$ity oi London'
116 FOURTE

will usuallyentailsettingup governingequations-problemsarenotresolvedbythis procedure, One

for questionsare neither answerednor predictions made. To achiel€ this requiresthe equa- known
tions to be solved,accountbeing taken of constraints,such as borudary conditions,appro- The sc
priate to any problem. solutio
ff to the model we addressquestionsof a generalcharacter,rrilhout referenceto any parti- probler
cular problem,we may be fortunateand discoverresultsof ,ereaige:reralit'Y: the principleof stresse
superposition of linear systemsis an example. Sometimes no uaiqu: als\ter can be given; Newmr
this is a featureof models and problems which involve instabiliq-oioa3 son oi another. So fr
A perfect,uniform, axially loaded strut in a uniform environmemrljll lot bos- n-henthe load assum€
is increased;an idealizedapproachhasremovedthe possibili4 oi-.ht:lT'e oi deformation,but posses
this predictionis wholly at variancewith experience. in rigir
How will an oil tank, founded on a clay stratum, tilt and senlerrh:r icaJ:d? -{t loads rvell laborat
-'o
below the failure load the assumptionthat the clay is uniforn mal; leaC predictions s'hich cate thi
conform with experience. At higher loads, however, small no:--;i--c:=h= l: -&e deforma- This an
tion and stength characteristicsof the clay will pla-v an increas'-g-1--::'3.€!i role. The zontal t
stress-strain curve for the clay need show only a small degreeoi rr:j-::--ecng b:1'ond the lo som(
peak for the prediction of uniform settlementto be who1l1.ureJa:-:- I: -.i:s ca-<-'rhe irflu- thin hor
enceof slight non-uniformityis greatlyincreasedby the presi:;: c- :'::I-? d:; io'work-- the peri
softening. The I
-:: sa:i3 a-Dparently
The analytical method, therefore, sometimesforcesus to aclro--=:= modffier
well-posedproblemsdo not possess a uniquesolution. \e';srii:s=, i::::i::e oirarious ofaniso
assumedpatlernsof non-uniforrnityon the tank settlemeoa * F .'=-'- =- ::: :alch may be 1965; I
learnt from thesesensitivitystudies. geneitr
Fortunately, neither the immediate settl€mentcharacrerr.i* a: -:; o::.:-::-€Cs, nor the this qu€
maximumload-carryingcapacityof the clay are sensiiitero rrr'- :::-=-:-::-i:s' airhough suftce t
the averagepropertiesdo not alwaysdictatethe respoo-!-- S"1:3 --:-:-.- '^i---" 1pe rvhere load- un
causeand eft'eit are not disproportionately related,sr1l be co:ia-=* leads to
mathem
IM\{EDIATE SETTLEMENTS rhe surii
The infuence of heterogmeityand qnisotropy and ther
The fust exampleconcemsthe application of elas-Lic il:-crJ --: ;--J: -:* -33diate settle- derived r
ment of a structure founded on a layer of saturated cla!'- T::s i:l*-;= ::: dJlated by the Presen-L
the problern, but ba:=:-:---' --: r-'i: appropriate areas of
engileeringimportanceor otherwiseof
=s receivedmuch r alid er=
to analysis. The use of an elastic model for clay ai 1or x.=-= ;-s
involr-ed a.r--.-r i:: '-: iele.
attention and the limitations and assumptions
deformationsof Ihe hr
I-am.6and Clapeyron(1833)had developedby 1828io::::,- 3l:.:=;'-:
elastichalf-space loaded rl:=:-:: :=;,:=': -r"-uadary. Their Sure,r'. f
a homogeneous and isotropic
Lam6 (1852) in bis le;i-s=:i---j ,r{ confessedthat cdfiLb{
formulaewere so complexthat -.--:==
(1885)using a of Russie
they weretoo complicatedto be appliedin practice- I[-1-.r=- 3:-=:=q
potentialfunctionmethod,succeeded in developingrhe s----:: = :. i:- -:::h could be used Lekln$
-T:-- iressesproduced
directly @4ayer,1954). The pubiicationby Love (191!, r- -:::- \\hhor
==k> :o:-ebl1',the end of solutioe
in a semi-inf,nitesolid by pressuresacting on part of :i: b:::c-1-
- = =: iririnsic interest. srla-aEtnr
a period during which mathematicianswerestud)ing ti*-_ ;:r:"J:
At about the sametime the recognition by engin€.s -r"!-":-:=*'-: =:::- ;=e relevant to their clals sEl
own needs,begana new period of activity which coliirlr- -j -- ;r-- *emotor
.iac-ree,<c
 LECTURE
1t'7
IOURTEENTII RANKINE

One principleof greatimportanceto engineersemergedat an eady stageand was certainly

known?oBoirssinesq: that for linearproblemsof elasticitythe principleofsuperpositionholds.
The solution to problemsof combinedsurfaceloading can be obtainedby adding together
those
*lorion, ,o pro6l"tn, involving simplesurfaceloading; in particular,the solution to
p.ot t"-. tn!t" u"rtical surfaceloadingis prescribedcan be derived from a knowledge of the
stresses and displacemeltsinducedby a singlepoint load. This is the basis of the well-known
Newmarkcharis(Newmark, 1942,1947)and the Poulossectormethod(Poulos,1967)'
!
So far as I have been able to discoverall the eadier studiesexceptone (Michell, 1900)
and to
assumedthe half-spaceor layer to be uniform in elasticproperties(i'e' homogeneous) i
possess the samepropertiesin all directions(i.e.isotropic). Real soil stlatainvariably increase
in rigidity with iepih and this reflectsthe increasingoverburdenpressure Furthermore'
labor"morytestsolsamplesofclaysecufedwiththeminimumofdisturbancefromdepth,indi-
directions.
cate that iheir deformationpropertiesoften differ in the vertical and horizontal
difference between the vertical and hori
This anisotropyis thought to arisechieflyfrom the
which developand increaseduring deposition, and which in turn leads-
zontal effectivistresses
clay paiticles; and partly to the presence of
to so-e pr"ferr"d orientationof thelhte-shaped
soil which results from the valying conditions during
thin horiiontal seamsof coarser-grained
the period of depositionof the sediment.
be
T'hefollowing questionnow arises:to what extentwill the predictionsof elastictheory
modifiedifheteiogeleityandanisotropyaretaken into account in the model ? The importance
ofanisotropyhas,ofcourse,beenappreciated for sometime (CrawfordandBurn,1962"Hanna'
1965;Duncan and Seed,1966;Mitchell 1972; Atkinson, 1973)but the influenceof hetero-
g"n"ity hu, beenlesswidely recognized (Burland et ol',1973)' There is no way of answering
ihis questionother than by examining particular cases The solution to one problem may
sufficeto indicatea generaltrend, but only if it is selectedwith care A singleverticalpoint
1oad,unfortunately,givesriseto a singularity in the stressfie1dat its point ofapplication'which
leadsto an ininite settlementthere: a simplification which might be judged desirableon
mathematicalgroundspresentsdiffi.culties of another kind' Uniform loading over a strip o{-
zhe surfacecerlainlyreitricts the deformation so that the problem becomestwo-dimensional
."0 ti"t.fot" .;-pler, but from this solution the case of arbitrary surfaceloading cannotbe
cerivedusingsuper-position. However, a load distributed uniformly over a circular areastill
pr:ents esslentiallya two-dimensional situation, and from it non-uniform loading over
a.-:asof any shapecan be built up using superposition of solutions which principle is still
talid evenin the presenceof those types of heterogeneity and anisotropy which we consider
::ie.
h: heterogeneous problem was suggested to me someyearsago by Dr Noel Simonsof
I
S=e; Univeisity, bui I was unaware then that certainspecialcaseshad beenconsideredby
t
G:-& (1929),Frdhlich (1934),
Holl (1940) and bv Borowicka(1943)as well as by a number
t 1957;Sherman,1958;Popov' 1959;
:i Rr..iar rvoikers (Mikhlin, 1935; Klein, 1956; Koronev,
a
I--i=-i1'ii. 1962; Zarctsky and Tsytovich, 1965).
d
slEour rhe addedcomplicationofanisotropythereweregroundsfor hopingthat a complete
d the clay
rf
s:l::or bl algebiaicmeanswould be possible. For simplicityit was assumedthat
rt.
:.:::n ..'asininitely deepand incompiessible-to modelthe immediateresponseof saturated
see
-';j-- s:ibjectto suddenloading. Thire was a good deal of evidence(for London Clay
:lt
S-pica and Henkel, 1957;Ward, et ql., 1959,1965) that the undrainedYoung'smodulusE
==i-s approximatelylinearlywith depthz accordingto the relation
E(z):E(o)+Az (1)
 ll8
R. E. GIBSON rOLBI

! /

tL)({
(E)

-tr. 'URi

so=e* \
5o O, for dll q,Rl,Rzl
Fig, I Ftg. :
Iiry2
Two extremecasescan be identified show.atl
geneEliz
(a) i:0
(b) E(o)--}. The =:
The frst ofthese is the classicalcaseand would provide
a a=i:I :a-k oi rhe generalanalysis.
The secondis u-nrealisticin one imponant resp6*
u.*L-r--re:rr bereath the road the aad at .-h
undrained modulus and therefore the undrainld
,t o= -a_1 -l2r -oura be r"-. iirvuf is appt-d
diftcult to. seehow the clay could avoid faiLing "og.h -,6 s,.,',f,tEelastic
there, L xlict model applidl or
\r'onld, at lea5t locally, becomeinadequate.
Fo. ,*ro^ *a.* -:f a,l1rearshortly it turns O, rrhater
out rhar rbis objectionis Dot quile so seriousas it
misbr aDp_- Diride t
A soluLonto the problemhasbeenpublisbed (CiUsouiX:,. T_ mo:r importanrresult tLe setilem
found, n'hich is connectedwith the extremecase
when rhe sut-ae ncdrlus E(o) is zero, can be agrin, -rle
reached.using simple reasoningand without
recourseio;=*d__ annulus-sir
L.nsrcer a-pressure4 uniformry distributed over
a circglar aea oi-iadius R at the surfaceof
an elastichalf-space,the youns's modulus of which
increa:-1 ion =r-o at the surface,linearry
with depth (Fig. l). Bm as S_
When the surfacemodulus is zero, the only quantities radal disfar
ilrolr=d il rhe problem are the pres-
sure4'' the radius ofthe loaded areaR and ). the I&rs argrr
rate ofincrea-= oitne uaorained moduruswith
depth., we seek,first, to relate the settlement :Tryecfed,ro
s. at t-he loaded area, to
thesethree quantities. The poisson,sratio y "*-. !s ass'-umed
"il. "i*"rar sbaiF- Can
of the mediun to be uniform and, in
the special caseof undrained deformation, z:{. €erae q a.c
4, JR,i and ,i" invoive dimensioasoi srressand rength atcne, and from :!s!I"e ;hr-!
j.":*, ,*3:,T":.l"nress groupscan be formed,
",I1.j::iilgttudes Ef-a.rE-
name13, .S.R aad 4 ,\R. By Riebouchinski,s B
theorem (B rkingham, r92l) or by employing -_aese
re.sooinj .o*,-rr"."a in erementary fluid Aeo_nr
mechanics,these dimensionlessgroups must Iti
be firacrionalty by a relation of the res-ab s :
lolm "ono..t; DiFide -LLe_
s"/n: f(qll& e) c€.8 -r tae Ft
As the materialis linear in its response,a,doubling oi oEe
of the pressure4 wrll leadto a doubling of =e
ttre settlements". Furthermore,when the pressrire =e i&e prrta
l,,.i" an" ,.ir"-ent is also zero. The
only functional form which meetstheseconiitions ag:h-L
is . Uo* ."l^tioo I
s"lR : A(qiAR) T'-t-.ae6
(3) as a ardc,ix
whereI is someconstantwhich dependsonly h
on poisson,sratio. The centre settlementis --bd
InereJore oi.,:fu
l=l= -io
S.: Aql^ :siiE5
@) esrre a=lsis
which doesnot involvethe radiusR of the loaded :
area. This result,so far, is restrictedto the :E1h-E!cr:
particularloading consideredand to the
settlementat the centre. cq:re< Ciiea:tr
As neither Young's modurusnor poisson's
mtio variesin a horizontal directionit can be
 TOURTEENTH RANKINE LECTURE

lI9

,,. a\<
r)
vorrine q (]Jff
Lot
Fig. :
Fig. 4

*#gT*.l",,:,.,#:}iil:":{i{illid;:;ff
",0*0,.,u,'owea,,em
t?*Tl""
l$.:*l+*,prui*a':ll**
*#***r**u#+**."ft
I
#*fi'r*u**fiEnu$*
I

)
f,*f,'.ffiii
+'*'*,'*i**#t,$*tit";l*.'*
I
Sd'q$,fi';1;1'lpfftfril;i,"ltl
:":,'#ip
)
Is
+-+,s****'gl,*lfi*t
+=ffi*r:l**n1l'{:*"fl**,ffi
,

lti{#rTi#f
r,td
 120
R. E. GIBSON FOLR-if

S t r i pI o o d i n g
r a c o m p r e r r i b r e . . c r " .( u = | , x-,-) Ioaded ci.
compre sjibte medi!h (y=o)
Ar E(o) .>O: c(cJ .+o As E(o) +o: c(o) ->o
Fig. 6 K(o) : 6
K(o) '+ o

analysisis requiredand it has beenshown(Gibson,

._^I:l lt. 1 Somnlete
rncompressible 1967)that, for an
medium,4:312., If the mediumis co_pr"rriit"_tnut poisson,sratio is
lessthanrcnehalf the constantI becomesinfinite is, if
(AwojoUiuoj-Citron, i973). Why should
An examinationof the stressdistribution
showsthat immediatelybeneatha strip load,
exan;tl: (F1s'6),.rherhreeprincipalstresses for
are equ"ri" q a
pressible. In this casea thin layer of inco_p."rriUt, :n'uii,""J";tyif, themediumis incom-
underan isotropicstateof stress_ Neither Jrl* u, ,rr" surface,and this is
voiumetric ai.,".J"r"ir,.il;;;;;tr;
this thin layerdoesnot thereroiecontribute "o,
to the settlem"nr!--iior"u.r, irpoisson,sratio is
lessthan onehalf, both the shearmodurus
andthe bulk modJ,,, oiiri. ,nir, .skin' are zero
Young'smodulusthereis zero. as
in" prl*"in"l*Jr",," ,his caseare found to
be unequal(Gibson and sills. 1971).E..tn"._or", FE& Sd
and this anowsi"iiii" l"]"-"ri" and shearstains to qE _{,1
kif!
develop locally' whether or not an ininite
,"ttt"-"ot o""u.i !lp"oo, oo rvhich influence
predominates:the magnitudeof the strains,
,, th" ;bio;J; ii" tuy".. A mathematical
argumentto settlethis poiat (Awgjobj.ald
Gibson,1973)showsth-atthe infinite strainsdo,
general,lead to surfacesettlementswhich in
are logaritt _;ial, iriJ,"
unfortunately, therefore, the simple result thai
the surfal siilement is proportional to the
local intensityofpressureholds only it ttremedium
is;;;;;;;;;;i".
However'the generalcasewhen the surfacevarue-;i;j;'y;'#.
beensotvedfor arbitrary valuesof poi*., -odulus is not zero has :-:-- P:=
, ;; aA;;u'""Jb1tur"", 1923)and rhd surface
settlements evaluated(Brown and.Gibso,n,f S?2,iSi:i];".;Jfu"r,
sults are obrained' The variationin th" rrrup. annough lesssimple,re-
plifJlrl-?u"" ,"tu.-"nt .r!,ithrhe par-
I ameterE(o)/)R, whichis a convenient.measur" "rirr.
of th" i.gt""-rr n"i".og"o"tty, is shownin Fig. 7
for an incompressiblehalf-space. As this parameier'd;;;;;
i il heterogeneitybecomes
more pronounced,the settlementbecomesmore
i For other valuesof poisson'srario resurts to the edgeofthe load.
*rri"r, ""ifo._ "^""fi.lose
n-ary-#iiriogron.o r.o- thesewere ;---
obtained' The influenceof poisson'sratio "u"
has almost u*,; t"-"""a by pl'tting the ratio of
the settlement,g(/)to rhe centresettle."*
S. *Jir rn" iolnoi#.u, (l=O) this result
rs exact. Although both,S(r)and ,S"areinlnit" "ur"
wtrenthe *.fu"?'-oOofu,
* ;, zero (exceptwhen
js
the medium incornpressible) rbeirratiois either;;;;;;;;;.
This analysisindicatesthat the shapeof
tfre Oeforme'O sulu."" i, tit"ry,o U" very sensitiveto
the stifenins of the soil rvith deothl A,
desiccated ;,, tendenc, savefor the
upperzoneofnormany-consolidated "h";t;ii-;;;;;
clays,it ir i" i" tnat a uniform surface
" Tt i. i. "rp."r.o
air elimiLprobtem, Theo-rderinwhichrtrcoperations/_+andrto)^0areapptiedapparenrty
"tri.tiu
:lni:!n.f.ii;l:,,i,"ili.r::f$:$Xii*o).r(o,/r,I-2l)b'urnJiri".".rl"i'!'r.
obrained
iDdependent
oi,r. pu,r,
o, :;ts;!T:'Til$*:"i,ft%-.:l;:'i:'"Tl]
"r,iir'',o#:*:1*n::*[--" :l;-€:
 FOURT€ENTII RANKINE LECTURE

t,

,
),2
;
, 1 9 u , v a r eIn h o o
)
) i""ifff""';'"u-';;;:;*"""iI'"lo .r,],"","",
f;:',: *?r:13ff homoseneol
rs incompressible elastic
layer

would lead to a more

uniform settrement
profile than is predicted
lr;s;e by simpleerasric

;-
7
#t*l'**lta[***fi
*+*''r,
=+*lm***pfifi**s*
ls
l.
rc

.*T**-+*;#*t*#*fiif
0f

tflitkdiffi
it

to

***:ru#fi*l**u**
he

llv
+r)
iis
:l =;;;.bhor zerosanalinfiniries,but
their presence
can simplifyrhe anatysr,s
task.

. . 4
.:_.-_,_._r
 122
Finally, it was decidedto return to the half-spaceproblem and investigateheterogeneity
coupledwith anisotropy. Very extensivestudiesof the anisotropic,homogeneous half-space
have been publishedrecentlyby Gerrard and his colleagues(Gerrard and Harrison, 1970,
1971)and by others(Milovic and't:uzot, 1970:,Milovic, L972;Nayak, 1973). The simplest
case,and the one Iikely to be encounteredin geotechnics,occurswhen the principal axesof
anisotropyare everywherevertical and horizontaland whenthe propertiesin all horizontal
directionsarethe same. The basicmodificationto the earlierwork demandedby this general-
ization concernsthe stressstrainrelations,for insteadof lwo independentelasticconstants-E
and,,, five are now involved: two Young's moduli,Ee arrdEsa shearmodulus Gv,1and two
Poisson'sratios zsy and z"s (Hearmon, 1961;Leklnitskii, 1963;Picker.ing,1970)' Taking
the axisy in the vertical direction and axes.n and z in the planeof the surface,thesetake the
form
t'7^\
Frg: 9

(7b) oE:f, :]r

e, : -vna#'va, ?*? LE Llf

Qc) S':. ila.-:.
::--a5-:s:
f 'u: - Qd)
",nlGvs
yo, : aa.lGvt Qe) F::L;;.
y", : 2(1+vss)-,.lEa (7f) q5:,-silr

materialand if the f,rst threeequa-

We shallbe concernedhereonly with an incompressible
is obtain€d F-ii=-.1
relatingthevolumetricstrainto the stresses
tions areaddedthe followingexpression
::- ei:
Yr^: e,+"o+e.:11-,^u-u')fi+(;-2,"")!-+(1-,*.-"Edfr (8) T:- n:

l-Ja-e:
The condition of incompressibilityrequiresthat this explessionis zero for all valuesof the
this leadsto just two relationsaconnectingthe elasticconstants,namely
stresses; 5EB
vav -- li - . \Y,
'--'? -a: :: =:

(10) F--: =
-==3:
Incompressibility therefore reduced the five constants to three, but although -E-.,'8" and +=t
G.," are independentof eachother they cannottake arbitrary values. To examinethis point
further we return to the caseof isotropicelasticity.
Considerthe three casesof extensional,isotropicand simpleshearloading of an isotropic
elasticmaterial, shownin Fig. 9. when the dottedlinesreferto the unloadedform ofthe body,
the full linesto the final configurationandthe arrowspoint in the directionofthe appliedloads
this is contrary to our expectations. =:- i-g
or slresses,
If a weight Z is applied slowly to the end of the bar shownin the upper diagramit is un-
likelys to rise, for if it did the weightwould haveextractedwork from the bar to increaseits
a For a material in which rE=Ev these reduce to a single conditioD vsv:vsq=1'
professoi"Bishop for reminding me that materials exhibiting creep properties and capable of temem-
" i am inOettea to
bering their past stresshistory exist, atrd can behave in this way'
 B u l k h o d u r uK3= ; f t . ; ' t",
E >-O

u<-l

o = 'Iiy)
shca,modurus
"o

Fig. 9
tl
own potential energy. We conclude from this examplethat
E>O . .. (ru
i Similarly, a spheresubjectedto an ambientpr€ssurep will not increasein volume,and this
establishesthat
i u ( * (12)
I Finally, if an elementis loaded by pure shearstressesit will not chooseto shearin a direction
I opposing the sftessand therefore
v 2 -l (13)

; E\idently the isotropicelasticmoduli mustassumeyalueswhich ensurethat whatevercombina-

dons of stressare applied no work is extractedfrom the system.
The restrictions on the moduli for the specialstresssystemsexaminedcan be derived frorn
I rtre singleunifying requirementthat the strain energydensity function lZ is non-negativefor all
a pcsible statesofstr€ss. For the isotropiccasethis takesthe form

.6EW : (1+v)l(o,- oo)2 +(o,- o)2 +("u-

")"f
* (1-2v)(o,i'on-f o)2 +6(l +v)(r,u2* r,"2 + ro"2) (14)
D
ad it can be seenby inspectionthat the requirementis met in generalif - I ( r,( I andE>0- {;

0) For an iacompressible,orthotropic,elasticmediumthe strain energydensity l/is found to

be _eirenby
d r-EtW : n(o,- oo)2+(2-n)(6"- q)2
+n(on-
")2
(15)
lc
ly,
n : EalEv (16)
ds
d Fcan beshownto benon-negative6
in general Ferrar,1941)onlyif
(see,for example,
lD- E Y , 4 t >o
its (17)
Gu.2 0
'F-:-'+**icr <r <2. Thisis sufficient
-ca-r.:essary- ofthe coefrcients on the right-hand side suggeststhe condition can be met if0
Note that thethree indepcndent dircctstressesappear only as two linearly independent differcnces,
I
i1
i r
E V ,E H , C V H

f l
i
i
:i
i
I

I Fig. 10
i
and
I' o<*<+ (18)
l Fg l1.
I The ptoblem of the linearly heterogeneous,orthofopic, incompressibleelastic half-space
has recently been examinedin somedetail (Gibson and sills, 1974; Gibson and Kalsi, 1974).
It is found that if the three independentmoduli -Ee,E" and Gr/Eeachincreaselinearly wit! depth
I
!
from zero at tle surface of the medium, then the simple spring behaviour is again revealedr
(Fig. 10). In particular,the settlement '(x,7) ofthe plane surfaceTresultingfrom a general
surface pressure4(x, y) is
(1e)
t
i As the simple orthotropy consideredinvolves no characteristiclengtb" this Iesult might have
been anticipated by appeal to the similarity argument. The parameter 'l[ is lound to be a
comolicated function of E"/-Ev and Gvo/E,', but tie simple expression
tl
N: (cwlEi+@-E"lEo)-' Qo)
FE: 12. :
i is in error by less than two per cent. It may be noted that for an incompre5sibleisotropic
the
material Er.:Er arrd Gvs:E|3, and equation (20) reducesto rrr':3 which agreeswith
,il A:312 recordedearlierfor this case.
res;r;irt
be
ri owing to the restrictions which the strain energyfunction imposes,the fiISt term cannot 1
ad if E-
greatest value of ly'- is 4. If ibe *€at
il v2! lessthai zero, or the secondterm lessthan { and therefore the
it may be concluded that -E*,E, is r
this is compaied with the factor 1| obtained for the isotropic case
whateverthe degreeof anisotropy the settlementcannot exceedtlat experiencedby an isotropic ffie+'o{
:
elastic clay by a factor of more than 2,3,. However, at the limit Es 4EFthe material becomes cf rbe ra
rigid and no settlementoccurs.
as
In order to evaluate-l{ in the generalcase,data on the independentshearmodulus Gys,
available. u-ndrained compression
well as on the two Young's moduli -6y and -dr, must be
provide reliable3
t"ri. lo .p""i-.o. cut with their axesin a horizontal or vertical direction will bre beEE
data only on the Young's moduli. However, a compression test conducted on a sample cut Ibffi..
will allow Young's nodulus (E ) in this coa6rtrr< i
*iif, it u"ir i""tloed at someangle I to the horizontal
material .Eeis conaected with the other Ii dll t
direction to be measured. For an incompressible
moduli by the equation
4trElar r:
t The z a-xisis direct€d dowtrwardsto confolm 1'ith the earlier notation'
dtr*entiat raaliatstrains developealin a specimencut with its axis horizontal are likelv to provide fu.Eryi:',
" &:;;;;;ii;
unreliable information about dvE. at 5-, 6
I

i;
r i
 125

Loido" cLo/ (A5htord)

o.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 l.o 1.2 l4 l6 f8

5 "= z l,

)9 Fig. 11. Variatiotr of undrainedYoutrg's modulussith indination of sp€cimen

).

d
d

'o 06 08 IO
02 04
.0)
g. 12. Typical variatioDs of untlrained Young's modulus (Eo) wilh otientation (0) when EE:Ev:E --
ric
!e (Gys-r - E,r-t) sin2 0 cosa 0*-Ev-l r cos4 0
E6-a : sine O+EE Q|)

and if Ey, Es and E6 at some other angle-and an obvious choice is 45'-are rneasured, then
If the shearmodulus G-rr1can be found directly from this equation. The angularvariation of
tst drE-, is shownin Fig. 11 when tle clay is twice as stiff horizontallyas vertically,and this
corresponds, roughly,to what hasbeenobservedfor undisturbedLondon Clay. Threevalues
ES of the ratio of shearmodulusto verticalYoung'smodulus,namely
Gu* --L -! !
AS F-.
on
b3 havebeentaken,the niddle valuebeingappropriatefor an incompressible isotropicmaterial'
:ut The influence of this parameter on the modulus at 45", for example,is very pronounced, which
[is confirms that this inclination is a natural one to choose for determining the shear modulus.
!€r Ir ri.ill be clear from equation (21) that it is possiblefor a matedal to exist which although
:ossessingthe same vertical and horizontal moduli is, nevertheless, not isotropic. The
=gular variation of E6lE in this rather special material, which might be termed 'pseudo-
dde :.orropic', is illustratedin Fig. 12. Thereis an eightfoldsymmetryabout the planesinclined
- 45', the greatestor least modulus occurring in these directions. Therefore,although

. . /
 126 R. E. crBsoN
equality of the vertical and horizontal Young's moduli is necessaryto ensureisotropy it is not
alone sumcient-in addition, the shearmodulus in an incompressiblematerial must assumea
value equal to on€ third of -E
In this comexion it is of interest to examine data by Dr Ward and his colleaguesof the
Building ResearchStation obtained from laboratory undrained compressiontests on undis-
turbed samplesof London Clay cut from blocks securedfrom shafts and tunnels. The stress
history to which London Clay has beensubjectedwould be expectedto havedevelopedmarked
anisotropy and we find this to be the case. Table 1 recordsvaluesofthe ratio E"/E, measured
on samplesobtainedfrom eightsitesin the London areadesignated by the codelettersusedby

Table 1. Ratio EE/fv of onalraiDealYosng's moduli of utrdis-

turbed London Clay (after Ward, Samtrels and Butlerr 1959)

i\i.

Reloading
L
E
7.'7 1.6
K1 1..9 1.8 1.8
K2 2.0 2.O 1.9 s:
1'1 1.4 1'8
81, 83 1.9 20 1.9
B2 1.4 1 4 .1b
o a-ic
T 1.4 t.J l,)
Average 1.60 1.64
g=
8rE
test data on rnndod clav (after ward, Marslanil aud
compressioD -:
3;-*"i: ,Hb""tt"u
--
Depth, Orietrtation* Average undrained secant No. of GvalEv
ft modulus atftalf ultimate, samples G-

372 D
30 H 504 24 1.35 0.35 :lrl
D 410 14 iqrp
. . -
366 25 1E:
50 H 581 8 1.59 0.37
l) 440 4 x :
394 30 ",En.
66 H 820 20 2.08 042 :fa
D 552 13
448 18 rlir
91 H 1060 8 2.37 0.44 fr
D 610 3
ole:
€!R]
114 1358 2l 0.44
D 1103 B
.g-4.
1383 1'7 -.?i-
138 H 2687 12 1.94 023
D 1.137 T r
Average 184 0.38 =s*
-Fr'F
*V- Verlical,H-Horizontal, D- IDclinedat 45.. i,-r-!"
 LECTURE
127
IOURTEENTH RANKINE

.'\z
,/A
Londoncloy (Ashford Common)

"o oz 04 06 08

Fig. 13. Variation of shear modulus with orientation of specimen

from Hampstead-
Ward, SamuelsandButlerin their paper (Wad et al', 1959)' The sitesextend
although the sampleswere
to stockwell and from walton to the city. It is signiflcant that
moduli themselves were
obtained from a range of depths and a variety of locations, and the
cyclesof unloading and reloading, yet
atout :0t lower on-firstloadingthan in the subsequent
pattern with an average value a little
the ratio o1 the moduli presentsa reasonablyconsistent
700ft of
gr"u.* tltuo 1'6. Skemptonand Henkel (19S4 estimatethat between500 and
central London' but despite this
iverburden has melted or been erotled from the area of
appreciablepreconsolidationpressurelessthanonehalfofthetheoreticalupperlimitofinduced
explainsomeofthe
JiiroLopv of+ nu. beenattained. Specialleaturesatlhe varioussitescan
observedin samplesfrom site
r=tiutioo, io fubt" l-for example'the high degreeof fissuring
C-uodtn"r"pointshavebeendiscussedindetailbytheauthors'buttheoverallpictureis
ouite clear.
=;; cut from
f-- more than three hundred undrained compressiontests on specimens
depths at Ashford Common were pub-
lioct sa-ptes oflondon Clay obtainedfrom various
us-ed in Table 2' Undrained tests
lirir"a ,otr.qo"rrUy (Ward et al., 1965)and this has been.
and inclined at 45' and these are referred
-ere conducGdon samplescut verticaliy, horizontally
modulus is some20%'
ioby the s1r:rbolsY, H and D. The ratio of horizontal to vertical
;t uu..ug" h"i" und ut depths of 66 and 91 ft the ratio exceeds 2' This greater degree
;;;
at Ashford which Bishop el a/' (1965)estimatedto
ci'anisotropymiy reflectthe greaterpressures
is a slight tendency for the ratio to increase
.o-i,p.oa io 1260-1300ft oi overburden' There
of isotropic behaviour in the upper part
;JOip,U, t"t *nether this points to somerecovery
ratio is greatel than it is at deptl, or whetherit is
ciihe slatum wherethe overconsolidation
joints and fissures at these shallow depths' remains an open
due to the presenceof more open
---iilJ"o-pr"rrioo
;:estion.
testson inclinedspecimens allow the shearmodulusGvEto be found from
the averagevalue as a
..,..,i"" ijO. Although there is somedepth variation and scatter'
that which would hold in the isotropiccase
=:.;c ot tle verticatmodulusis 0'38,which exceeds
:=t that Gvs is the shearmodulus which would be found
only t5'%. It must be emphasized
horizontal faces of an element in situ' If the
:ri.", ,ir"rr". *"re appliedto the verticaland
with faces oriented at an angle d to tle
==" rvr,"- of stresswere applied to an element
."iitontul(o.u"rtical)direction,thenashearmodulusGewouldbemeasuredandthisdiffers'
 128 R. E. crBsoN
in general,from G,rq. As the axesof referencerotate with respectto the material, the com-
ponentsof str€ssand strain transform accordingto the geometryof Mohr's circle, but the
componentsof the elasticitytensor, which is symmetricrank four, transform accordingto
more complicatedrules. Theseconsiderations, which haveled to equatiotr(21),showthai cu
is givenby

Sz: l"*"zo
+ff (fi*z)"^"zl-' Q2)
This relation allowsthe variation of GBwith specimenorientationto be calculated. Taking
GrE/tv:0.38 and EEIE,:2 as typtcalfor undisturbedLondon Clay,it is found that rotation
ofthe referenceaxesis accompanied by a very smallvadation in the shearmodulus(Fig. 13)
amounting to no moree than 51, although the young's moduli ditrer by afactor Z.
Having consideredthe extensionsof classicalelasticitytheory which are neededto take
accountof anisotropyandheterogeneity, and thesefactorsin relationto the undraineddeform-
ation propertiesof London clay, it is appropriateto give someattentionto their implications.
Accordingly, we €xaminethe influence of three factors, namely
(a) layer deptb,
C..E,.lt
(b) elastic heterogeneity,
(c) elasticortholropy
on the immediatesurfacesettlementof a layer of London clay 110ft thick restingon a rough
rigid base. The loadingis a verticalpressureof 1 tonft2 distributeduniformly overa circular-
area of radius 110ft' For this calculationthe data on Eo and E, from Ashford common,
which is shownin Fig' 14,havebeenused. The fun lines(partiarheterogeneity) showthe best

Tab-le-3. rDluenlg-ol stratum depth, elasfic heterogeneify ald orthotropJ otr setflemelt of circurar (.R:110 ft)
Ioadedarea (4:1tft') on surfaceof London CIav

Stratuo t"(o), Go"lEu Settlemeni,fr Factors taken into

tlft2 -_ aCCOUnt
fI --
Centre I Edge Cer:iEe-E{ige
I.0 500 0 033 o.322 0.205 0.117
t--
1.8 500 0 038 0 238 0 J53 0.035 Orrhotropy
1.0 0 9.1 0.165 0 165 0 Full helerogcneiry
1.0 200 ).) 0171 0.087 i 0-08.1 partial heterogeneity
1.6 0 91 0.38 0.132 0.132 i o tOrthotropy,
I full heterogeleity
110 1.0 500 0 0.33 0101 0.031 0.070 Depth
110 1.8 500 0 0.38 0.072 0'022 i 0'0i0 Depth, o hotropy
110 1.0 0 9.1 0.33 0.112 0.131 I - 0.019 Deprh,
full heterogeneity
110 1 8 0 9.1 0.38 0 0s0 0 093 -0013 D e p r b .o r r h o r r u p l ,
fu heterogeneiry

e It would be interesting
ifthis insensitivity provealto be a general featurc ofctays (seeBarden, 1963).
ON
FOURTEEN-TH RANKINE LECTT'RE
!tr- 129
E v , E H( r / f i ? )
he rooo 2OOO
to
C r o ve I

2)

60
\\\
\t'r \\\
]H
Cloy

\r"
]E
Depth E
)o (fr)
80
t)
E
\r \

u
IOO

]H
E.
t-
120 \
5,

t40r-
Iig. 14. Depth variation of vertical
-analhorizoDtal uqlrain€d y oung'smoduli of London Clay (AsMo.d
ComEon) (afaerWaril, Marsland ard Samuels, l96t

!
i.r
J,

4.2

(fl)
o.l

o4

heterogeneitv
oDsurfaceimmealiate
setuemeut
profle (isotropicincompressible
*afi'"t**iiitji$elastic
'-earfit
throu'h the individuarpoints,whilethe dashedfines(fulr heterogeneity)
givevanishing
ssrfacelomoduli and herethe agreementwith the observatioo,
i, t"., gooa.
Ihe properties of the clay are shown in Table 3, tog"th",
*ith tn" calculated immediate
i.'dements at tle centre and edge of the loaded.ur"ul
Fo, ttrose caseswhere the depth
:="erogeneityis ignored, the avemgevaluesof ttre moduli ttroug;lie
rull fayer depth of 110 ft
I'a''-ebeenassumedin the calcuration. The first entryin
Tabt" I ."L". to tn" ,imprestassess-
===i the clay layer is replaced.by a uniform, isotropic elastic
-"'h.1" nuf_rpa"": in" u"rti"ut
:;dulus 'Et is usedin the calculationas this is usuary
All the facton havebeen
=;-uded in the last entry and whenthis is comparedwitn"mptoyea.
tn" si.l"
-:: cenrre it is seenthat
settlementhas decreasedby 75)(, thi edgesetttement io7, "ut"uration
f while the differential
=-iemetrt betweencentreand edgehasdeclined.by an order of
magnitudl and changedits sign.
1a9
_ :-E;) 9trect of introducing heterogeneityalone is shown ;o p;"f i:. As the variation of
- n'iti depth changesfrom a uniform distribution (rineA) to-iine (partial
ts heterogeneity)
= :'- l""ai"g i. direcily to the su -aceofthe clay at a depth of 18
"ppted ft.
 130 R. E.crBsoN
the reduclion in averagesettlementresulting from the increasedstifiess of the clay below about
50 ft is not offset by the reduction of ,E above this lerrel. The change from partial to complete
heterogeneity (line B to line C) hardly affects the averagesetilement, but the differential settle-
ment is concentrated at the edge as a step.
When the limited depth of the layer is also allowed for (Fig. 10 the heterogeneityincreases
slightly the average settlement, but the settlement profile is aeain radically altered.
Stratum depth is, of course, commonly taken into account in scrdement calculations, but
the influence of orthotropy, which is tantamount to using a ralue of t greater than -Ey,is not
negligible, while the heterogeneityhas a pronounced effect otr ihe edge settlement.
Apart from its simplicity this example departs from realirt i: anorher important respect.
The ground is rarely loaded directly but usually throu-sh a founciarion possessingsome flexural
rigidity. The surface of the soil then experiencesnot rhe pressure appiied at the top of a raft
but the counter-pressure on its base which will, in general, be di:-'dbuted quite differently.
The counter-pressureadjusts itself in such a way that the ber:: ioim oiihe raftjust matches the
deformed surface of the soil. The earliest attempts to derelop a reasonable procedure for
determining bending moments and shearing forces in a raft s-re:a i.rom the work of Winkler
-s_f'-,
(1867) who assumed,in effect, that the soil responded ro suar-ec:ie.adirg like a bed of springs.
This assumption was first used in the design of rail track ald la-i:r rbr:ad $ide .application as
the theory of subgrade reaction. Although much has be:n rr'r::ca rholly devotedlto the
consequencesof assuming the validity of this simple nodel ft{a;ashi, i92i : Het6nyi, 1946), it
has come under strong criticism. The virtue of the model la-vi:,*-^ srnplici6.', but later, when
it rvas clearly recognized that uniform pressures do not prodece i=:i'oim sertlements, various
attempts were made to improve it either by adjusting the coei:e:: oi scbgrade reaction over
the base of the foundation so that observed settlementpat-reirs c.:ld be nai.ched, or introduc-
ing diagonal springs in the model subgrade to make ir capa'rl: ci spieading load Iike a con-
tinuum. Although understandable,these efforts \vere,ir m1're1 nr.direcred. Appropriate
parameters had to be selectedfor each circumstanc€aIrd rhe lc€:- cor,-:cuously lacked what
all models should possess-predictive power.
Reluctance to abandon this model stemmed partly fron -t; ;lai:a:ucal difficulties which
'were encountered when soil is represented by an elas-uc co:-ja-j:rit. Although in 1885
Boussinesqhad solved the problem of a symmetricalll' loadec i:gid ;.icu1ar raft-resting on an :E=IIE
elastic half-space,more than fifty years passedbefore Boros:c<a ,-193qltsucceededin generaliz-
ing the result to a raft of finite stiffness.
Between these two models lies the heterogeneouselasric co:---::':m. At one extreme it be-
haves like the Winkler model and at the other like Bou.s=-c_'s aad Borowicka's uniform
elastic continuum. Dr Brown of Sydney Universiry has r;--e:i-'" succeededin extending
Borowicka's work to take account of the increasing stifie--s o: -"-leground with depth (Brown,
1969, 1972). Fig. 17 shows how this affects the distriburiot oi ieaciion pressure on the base
of a uniformly loaded rigid raft. The ratio of the suriace i:od.:r-,:.E(o) to that at a depth
equal to the radius R of the raft is a convenient measure oi l::eroeeneity; when it is unity
Boussinesq's solution is recovered and when zero \\'inller: di=budon is obtained. The
reaction pressure distributions are reminiscent of those -sivel b1'Borolicka for different raft
flexibilities and it is evident that raft flexibility and soii he.rerosareiq' augment each other, so
that Borowicka's solution tends to overestimate raft b:adirg moments while Winkler's
method underestimatesthem-at least in examples oi simple lcadirg such as this. The im-
portant influence of soil heterogeneity on the maximum beading moment,11 which occurs
1r Whether or nol the symmehic bending assumed he.e will hold ;b. ail \al:r= oi iir. relative rjgidity of soil aod = :r
!,.<r-t
or mft, whether asymmetric bending can develop unde.uniiorm pr6s-r!e ii solc: a.es is atr open question.
 R. E. GIBSON

U p ' e r b o u n Jr o l u r i o n + < 2

trx0-h) l X h
Y0-4{:"1.- rt'{}
-f -r
I I

W,J
l.*".'.tu,o",." {=,
Fig. 19
for the same problem in
usually but not invariably at the centre of the raft, is illustrated
Fig. 18.
(d=0)
SLOPESTABILITYAND BEARING CAPACITY
The infuenceof heterogeneitY
-E' with depth' which is a
It is well known that the increaseof undrained Young:s modulus
increasein the u-n-
r"",.re of most clays, is accompaniedby a corresponding
the marked influence which the
drained shear strength co. tt rs naiural to enquire whethe''r
"n*"",".irti"
in problems of
eft'ects
i".-* 1", in problims of deformation will be iinked rvith comparable
bearing capacity and short-term stability of slopes'
"-ii"ii-pr".i of an increase of
-ethod available to examine the possible conseqnenoes F+.trL
recognized that this procedure
.tr;;;;th ;;pth is the d:0 slip circle analvsis' itis rrideii'
of a cuiting' Very often the
p.""ft* .t tound to the collapseload ;r the critica1heighi
"pp* purposes and well within
' worst' cfucle grvesan answeroI accJptableaccuracyfor ergheering
in estimating the acnral loadiag or the av-eIage shear
the range of uncertarnty ::= -
"o"o.,ot"'"i
th" bearing capacity of a strip load on uniiom clay is overestimated _€r--::
.""rJnl Fo.
""u-pl", u :-g: I
by only 8%.
cut' tlere is lesscertainty that
In somecases,notably the stability of a vertical unsupported TE =I.
ulc--rrabt5 ariseschiefly from the
,l the most critical circle leadsto a satisfactoryanswer. This -''.--
havebeendeveloped
ir"t ."f"rions to more than a few problems' Horrerer',ne-'hods -r:r *
"J are afa;s or the pessimisticside'
i"-irr""i ,i""o Oasticity for obtaining Jstimateswhich by finding a ---; -
"i 1952) ar-e determined
i-n"r" ,o-"ud"a to*er bound solutions (brucker and Prager, which meets
-.G I;E
ol equilibrium'
stressfield which everywheresatisflestle requiemenc =rrnr|.|r..r
""-pf"" conditions and nowhereviolates the falure cri-'erion'
"'^iirpp.t toooauty
th-iir.r. problem then at least
U""ta lower bound solutions have been obained ro a ! lfG
""d
that the exact solution lies bet\r'e€n the greatsr iower bound and the least
there is certainty 'When ;E-"3
these.are close our uncerLainries are remoled' but when despite con- ,.!ii f n
uacenainrie- remain' but at least we have
"pp".-i"""a.
siderable effbrt on our pafi me gap remainswide the :.'rfrfi i
case for a rtnical cut in uniform cohesive
no false confidencein the upper oiund' This is the to the prob- EK
1973b). If the gapcanbe closed completeb then an exact solution
the upper bound solu-
"oiifi.r*uo,
ffi lr.'t*" i"".a, atthougn ieither the failure mecbanismassumedin =TEEI
solution ma.,r'correspond to what actually -fu.s]!
i-i* ,r- ,n" stressdistribution in the lower bound
haooensin the ground.
 f OURTEENTH RANKINE L!CT('RE

t.l

*G',;'d ,.,
{(er"sr;.'n)
z
I. t.o
:E
o.9
JI o 'o,,"0" oo
1?n,"
rol?,*,1
:t
te Fig.20, sropestabirity(undrained)
in idea,.*HJiffiffifrer BookerandDavis,1e?2)
&e
br
As a simpreand ratherartiflciarexampleret us consider
whethera stableunsupportedverticar
ed
face can be dug in an idear norma'y-consolidated
in" ,ino.uined shearstrengthis
assumedto increaselinearlywith depthfrorn-azero "ruy.
at th" grouiJ ,u;fi."". The lowerdiagram
in Fig 19 a possibreplanefailure suri.ce ioclioeJoji+i" uJpu*ing
-shows tt rough the toe of
the cut.- uring simplestatics,it can be easily,nor'
tt ut tn" JoJ*u oot be stable
unlessthe bulk unit weight?,of the clay is lessor equal
to i*1"" in" *t"".rtaoty
of increasep of the
shear_stiength with depth. The upper diagram showsa stressdistribution
equilibriumandthe boundaryconditions,althoughit which satisfies
loot, fuii-_ ..ufotic (Heyman,1973a).
The.dottedlinesindicateplanesof stressdiscontinuityu
uoAii"r" _uy be allowedas long as
equilibriumis satisfiedfor thoseelementsthrough
*ili"1,n.v]".s' If y:), ilwill be seen
that the clay abovethe toe ofthe cut has.JustreaJhedfailo* u'"i ii u" that failure
is not attainedelsewhere. Sincethis is a.lowerb"il "uo "necked
,;ilti". ; ;"y be greater than2p be_
iore collapseoccurs. The boundsare coincidentand
thereloreif the cut is just stabley:2p,
an! if v <2p there.is somemargin of safety. The depth
a doesnot enterinto the
solution and this implies that if a srablecut can be "i'rrr"'""t it
;rg ; i;";;";p wilt remain stableat
thesamefactorofsafety18asthe depthis increased.
a*i"yt""iJ"y. rikeryto be stabreunder
:: DiscoDtjnuity
or stress gradient.
_ l Dls rs true
as loog as Lhe undrahed condilion cotrtiDuesto
hold.

--.--..---
 R. E. GIBSON
134
,'| R i g i rdr r i pf o o t i n g
.\t ,t)-! +// t5faa h bo'.) .o

t \
Il Y"='-t'
\
t \
.l \

4.5

8 16 20
o05 o'04 0 0? o
!.i.o ."/s a
Eiior ii sliP circle onolt5it

trig. 21. Bearing capacity in nolmally consolidated clay (after Ilaris anit Booker' 1973)

theseconditions in th€ short-term? If the groundwatertable is at the surface of the clay we

may write
p : (y -y,) dc"ldp' Q3)
The =.2
wherep' is the vertical effectiveconsolidation pressureand 7. is the unit weight of water'
cut will therefore be stable only if rr
dc"ldp' 2 yl2(y-y*) Q4) *r
and if, as a rough approximation,la we take y:zy*, equ^tion (24) reducesto tbr
dc.ldp' ) | Q5) d&
of zero lateral strain rarely exhibit &{
Clays normally consolidated in nature under conditions
b
valuesof dc"/dp' above0'4 and valuesin excessof 0'5 would be wholly exceptional(Skempton'
d
1970). It must, therefore, be concludedthat for vertical cuts in those normally consolidated qG
clays which do not possessa zone of desiccationclose to the surface, support will always be
G
needed.
br
An 'exact' mrmerical solution to the more generalstability problem of a uniform slope cut
Ed
in a clay of this tlpe was published recently (Booker and Davis' 1972)- They showedthat as
-cl
long as a just stable slope is not flatter than about 5', the solution to this problem bas€don a
*
worst circle (Gibson and Morgenstern, 1962)is very little in error.15
For this casethe shapeof the most critical circle correspondsin shapewell with the tlajec-
4 '
rrr
tories of tle velocity field they derive (Fig. 20). Onceagain' the stability dependsonly on the
-
slopeinclinationand not on its height. aii
This agreementis comforting, but if we turn to the undrained bearing capacity of a smooth-
basedstrip load on a clay of this type (Fig. 21) the sameauthors find that the worst circle gives
IEril
ra lf y < 2/" the condition on dco/dp' becomes more sevele.
15Their sollrtion for the vertical cut also agrees with that derived here.
 135

sriffra{t
i f - ( l n { i n i i e5 t , i p )

n
E! Eu

t l N-
t \
.. 2oB
1 l t \
1\,/B.-4^.

"'.,=*(-+)
EL A S T I C
HOI'lOCENEOUS I N H O I ' 4 O C E N E O UE5L A S T I C

ll n
v
qJ=Q+n-)cu cf=+3B

o ' 1 1 F
t l l'\
l l ?14:2qft 2r#) t \
ywe

(23) BoMocENEous PLAsiIc \dq, o!!N!-q!_!-,!!_a-!llq

Fig. 22. Influence of depth heterogeneity of E" and c. on bending of a sttip raft (smooth contact)
The
wildly overoptimisticresults(Davisand Booker,1973).16Evenfor clayswhichhavea reason-
(24) able surfacestrengththe error involvedin the slip circle analysiscan be astonishinglyhigh.
The reasonfor this seemsto bethat no circlecanbe chosento conformwell with the trajectodes
Qs) ofthe velocityfield. This resultmust be regardedas ofthe utmostimportanceand it suggests
that there is a real needfor further exact solutions to problems where lactors such as strength
heterogeneityand the inability of someclaysto carry tensileshessesare examineda!r-dthe
resultscomparedwith simpleengineering methodssuchasthe slip circleanalysis. Only in this
way canwe discoverthe factorsto which the answersarereally sensitiveand the circumstances
rvheretheseare likely to be influential.
To draw togetherthe themesof elasticityand plasticityand the influenceof simplehetero-
geneityto which I havedrawn att€ntion,it is instructiveto examinehow the maximumtrans-
versebendingmomentin a uniformly loadedlong strip footing altersasthe loadingincreases
andunderlyingclaypasses from an elasticconditionto a stateoffully developedplasticity(Fig.
'fhe
22). two extleme casesof uniformity and of linear heterogeneityin both the undrained
Young'smodulus,Eo and the undrainedstrengthcohayeagainbeenadopted. Whenxhedepth
variationofthis quantitycan be ignoredand this might be the casein a plate-loadingtestor for
a footing of limited sizeat the surfaceof a clay stratum,the maximumbendingmomentin-
creases from zero then passesthrough a maximumand apptoaches zero againasthe ultimate
bearingcapacityis reached. Whenthe foundationis largethe increasingstiffnessand strength
1€Seealso Livtreh and Greenstein, 1973.
 136 R. E. CIBSON

ffl flTlq Eu

I ili N t
"*7-T-* \
LSmoolh.isid bose

Fig, 23, \'Vfich loarl settles more?

distributionin sucha waythat the bending

of the claywith depthmodifiesthe counter-pressure
momentcontinuesto riseasthe loadingincreases andit reachesits greatestvaluewhenthe soil
is about to fail. Furthermore,the senseofbending is now'hogging'instead of'sbggingi

CONCLUSIONS
The analyticalmethod draws attention to broad trends and helpsto distinguishbetween
which factorsare of primary significanceaud which are of secondaryimportznce.
It is neitherjust a dispensiblesupplementto engineering futuition, nor merelya procedure
for quantifyingresults. :':r:1

It is ableto 'speakfor itself' and on occasiondoesso in characteristicwayswhich may be

illustratedby the following example.
The incompressible heterogeneous elasticlayerwe havebeenconcemedwith earlieris subject
to a uniform strip loading(Fig.23). The layerrestson a smoothri,sidbaseat somesmalldepth ir_"=,
Dl in the dia$am on the left and at somemuch greater depth D2 in rhe diagram on the right.
In all other respectsthesetwo casesare identical. If x'e rvererequked to guessw-lich load
settlesmore,the majority would probablyconcludethat the load on ihe deeperlayerdoes. It
seemsdifficult to believethat this answ€ris incorect, but it is. In iact an analysisby Professor -=
Arvojobi of Lagos University has shown recentlythat the settlemetriis completelyindependent :,-li:t
of layer depth (Awojobi, 1974). -L-C
The settlementSo of any point on the surface of the hcompressible layet al a distance ,'
from the centue-line ofthe strip load, can be expressedin the form
: * lo("=,"?
,s"(x) u Q6)
Jo z.t:l
wherethe symbolshavetheir usualmeaning. f,rcrs
In this case lcr=+=
(27)
havebeenderivedfor o. and o, the verticaland
and, basedon Awojobi's analysis,expressions -ry-
horizontalcomponentsof stress. The stressdifferenceis found to be -siyenby i:=s=
(",-"") z I sinhn(B+xtlD
: -DLao$;@;iD=;os;;lD-a;64-fi=;C;;iDJ'zor
, sini ,{B-x)lD l
,!Ei

"o,
s fur"
t1:!6--
. The variations of (o.-o)lq down the centre line C-C (-r:0) and beneath the point 0 i
]t_:q- l
(x:1'18) for three typical layer depths D/B:1, 2 and 3. arc shovn in Fig. 24. These :rE

\*
 RANKINE LECTURE
FOURTEENTII

(r,- cr;)1., (o-,-c\) l\

Shet5 iiJiereice on liie c-c

stres5 differen.e oi

Fis.24
(27)'
in conjunctionwith equation
the surprisingprop"'Jy th:t 'ul"t "sed'
distributionspossess be
il surfacesettlementis found to
(29)
"r""*"itd;e area(ixl < B) '
S"(x) : 3tll2iwithin the loaded r
: 0 outsidethe loadedarea(lxl > B)
less
progressively
that whenthe bas€ofthe layeris roughthe settlementbecomes
It is known
i,v.,.,r,i.r"*,ol:':l'::,::;ilzu:#";',ilJJX'r}il:i'"'l.oJ
".'iu. ofrestraining
theeffect
23)wjilhave
f'::l*:XTii::ll'i;J'1?';iil;"il'*;;;(Fis'
"i;#t'""*ru;*.*fi .**l',l::i;"'T.l.5ffi
*"0to""j'"i0"-i"iil;';;llTj:^'-'" :il":;:il1"Jit;Tilil:
compared
setrlement
]lfr
JT;H]j:llf i''l"ot'"olil*'t.'t".'
(Facurrvof Eneineerids)
LondoncldJ. phD (hesis
.therlerornotionof undisrurbed
la*:::"",T$:,,rr, ).

;'ax"_1,.lr:,J"3'r,,"#n
^-y;*:'li: ";;;;;.x;:,i,:;{.\&:Tb.,:'::''*'::i]]:""j-,"
PrivatecommunF
..ry^*t:XX,$ll'"Yo'!,T,Xii;,,i;ji,i)ih:''i,'iiiit"v",onasmoothristdba"e'
^-:'":tf''i;;:-;"6iith"9-
13'No 3' 198-210
topic soil' Gdotechnl4ae
--' ''"r1u"".ents in a cross-anisot
Barden,
-''i,i,i
L. (1963)' and
Stresses oLs,tr

#,"T.1a*:,.S."8..1g:itill.';:lliii;)'uli'll,];.*.ampres.or
rrom
crav
London
ioho*o-
theAshford ll
il
*,"1's1"1, li:iHili,i,3l,rop..,n
r,,"j'jl-..,T;lJ;'i+:.*'"'ll*t"$:ti;i:'i[
ii
l"h:i;.tri.i,g;,'",.##1"f",:f,,i
;i:('$;i"fi";J:X?'
liu"la"rl.r***;i
ffi i:,;::.
":", I

'.,'"l'TlT
-"
i';'-t;"hi' dessolides '
ilastiques i
l1'-7: et dumoul)enent
^-' despotentielsd l'dtudedel'equilibre
"'""
"_'.i*l:jhitffTiil(i"f#, mrtsonolastic
circular depth.
ornnite
layeN
roaded
",r^".rudrormly universitvrols#lu't{o.".oaotu';n"'"u'"'
rtar' PbDthesis'
u,si:,'";.0+':,\"nll;.*'ifr'"tl);"n'
"'*n' "n
BlSIi:i.i.;-""*;;;'"#:L'i;,.i:';';.c4e6s7ei5;:entotadeeperasl'c
 R. T. GIASON

Jnl Soil Mech' Fdns

Brown, P. T. &Gibson,R.E. (1973). Rectangularloa'ls on inhomogeneouselasticsoll'
Dio. Am. Soc,Ciu Engrs sM70,917-920,
nu"r.iogi.rurrl,i. trszl). Notes on the method of dimensions Phil' Mag' 42 influenceor non-
;;;;;: t lt.;iln;, d. c. & Gibson, R. E. (1973)' A field-atrd theorelical^studvof the
---io-itg"o"iiv
on t et.|.ernent. Proc. Sth Int. Conf' Soil Mech', Moscow 1'3' 3946'
plate resting on a non'homogeneouselastic
Carrier. W. D., III & Christian, J. T. (1973). Rigid circular
ui"ifu-"nt
.,"oJr:-,'unt studies roronto E'?s"/nl
ontheInt.sinaiHospitar,
".o;'i.igj"{:itl',[?rl:
Can. Soc' CiD.E gts 46 (5)' 31-37.
analysis P/'c 4tl'
Davis.E.H. &Poulos, H. G.(1963). Triaxial testing and tbree-dimensionalsettlement
)istralian-New Zealand Conf. Soil Mech', 233-243' predictior under three-
o"ri.. el ii * eo"lor, ll. C. OSosl. The use of elastic theory for settlement
dimensionalcondilion Gdotechnlque t8, No i. 67-91'
on the bearing capacity
Davis. E, H. & Booker, J. R. (1973). the ilect of increasingstrength with depth
of clays, 23,
Gdotechniqre No.4, 551-563'
-Joit--ecfra"ics
Drucker- D. C, & plager, w, (1952), and plastic alalysis or limit design. Q Appl' Math'

Pfoc' Am' Soc'Ciu' Engrs

o"rtlirLT t. & seed,H. B. (1966). Anisotropv an'l stressodentation in clav'
92.81-i04.
Ierrai. w, L. (1941). Aleebta' 138-141. Oxford Utriv' Press'
-Druckuerteitung
Filnfl"t. o. X. \1934 im Baugrunde' Vienna: Springer' "fec1''
Ll-"-ai'c.'Vl'alif W. J. (tgi1i. circuiar toadsapPlied to a crcss-anisotropichalf-space' I
_=:i

Paper No. 8, Geomech. "irison, Div. CSIRO, Australia'

c"-#a-,i.il.iti"rii..",w.r.Ostlj.'"iianatysisdaloadedhalf-spacecompfisedofanisotropiclavers'
Tech. Paper No. 10, Geomech Div. CSIRO, Australia'
ciui.". i. E. a r"r"iei,ort".o, N. n. (i9--62).--inoi" o" tr.t" 'tuuilitv of
cuttings in normallv consolidated _ ----_
clays. Gdotechnique12, No, 3' 212-216'
ciu,"i, n. e. iig6zil some res;lts ;;;rnitrg displacementsand,stressesin a non-homogeneouselastic
half-sDace. Gdotechniquet7,No, i, 5d-e7G-"" uiio 18, No. 2, 275-276; 19, No. 1, 160-161)'
".oigenda: displacementsin a non-
citi"..dE., siJ;"", i. i. a.lina."*i, r. R. F -(1971) --some tesuJtsconcerning
homogeneouselastic lavet. zeit' L ans. Mail';ijL';"ji;",ii,;",""1
--!u,li" R. E. & Sills, G. C. (1971). I
Gibson. derormation of a non-homoseneous
::!:i
trurr-.pu"".- Ptoc. Roscoe Mem symp', camb dge,,564-572 -
Settlemeniofa strip load on a non-homogeneous orthatrcpic incompres'
citson. n. i. A Snt, C. C. ltlf+;. r :g:i:
sibli elasric half'space. Unpublished work' inhomogenous
cjb*;-. r--;. ta"i;isi, G. (1^974). So-i 'e-o'ks on the surface settlement of a ltueatlv
o ltotropic elastic half'rPac?. Unpublished work'
7 173-179'
c;inil, j. fr. Oszsl. The pressuresunder substructures Engng and Co stn '
Hama. T. H. (1965). Discussion: rLti:"i"",iJi""p"iG oJ i a"tot" slacial iili deposit' Can' Geot' J' 2'
129-1.31.
'
ffu,"-u-.fti, i. OSzl). Theorie iles Trdgers auf elasticscher Unterlage' .B.erlir.' Sprlnger
oxford Univ' Press'
fi.--"i, n.'f. S. OS 67). A inttoductiott to applied anisotropic e/artl'ciry'
parametelsin fieid studies' Proc' RoscoeMem'
\&a Henkel, D. J, (1971). fite rerevanceoilaboratoiy measured
Symp. Cambridge, 669-67 5.
HerdDli, M. (ls4O. Beafis on elqsticIoundations' Uttiv Mich Press' inSoil Mech'
iiir-i'],1. tr'si:ii. slmpteptasticitiiie'orvaffiiea rosoitmeclanics' Proc'Svnp'Plasticitv
CambridgeEng' DePt, 161-11 2 . _::1
H"y;;, i. 497$j. ih; stabilitv of a vertical crt lnt' Jnl Mec' 'sci 1s 845 854'
ffol, p,'f.- tfS+ol.- stresstransmission in earths' Proc Hight'av Res'Board20'
Kdrisel,J. & Quatre,M. 0966). i;t;;i;-
--"i""f"*ir tout i"" toiautib"t: rneihodede pr6visioni partir-de
tri-"*t"i' ,q"i. poi" ciiiii.iie,:.4z-teq. (Traostatiod in ctu.Ens.Publ. wks Reu.63,s31-
5354661-666) O968).
"A-studv
fr#, d. f. tis;d-
-- of no.t-hotogeneitvof discootinuities in deformatiomaodof othermechani-
inzh'-stroit'
;;i ;;;;ii"t ot ttre soitin tle aeG" oi"trtrciureson solidfoundations sb' Trud' Mosk'
tnsi. tl.
K";;;t,;. c. 095?). A die restingon an elastic- half-spac-e,the modulusof elasticitvof which is an
eiponential fuDctionof deprh Dokl Akad' Naal SSSR 112' 5'
r*ii!. i. lil-fls?al.---u"trtJt. or settlements'Jnl SoilMech' FdnsDiu Am' Soc' Ciu' Ensrs
".ii.utin!
B. P. E. ' M6moiresurl'6quilibreint6rieurdescorps
(1833). solideshomogatres'
t"ri8l 3. ll a*n"r.on,
*"rte (1831)t on papef by Poinsot & "lirl- -=
i.' *r-iiiii iii",rr., 4, (paii;i. G;bii,r"a ;rl I nlath. 7, reporr
Navie; dated1828.)
L^;;'C. (i8;;;.--i;;"ks surla thiorie mathtmatique deI'dlas'icitadescorpssolides' Paris' :ur :=
 139

RANKINE LECTURE
FOURTEENTH ,- - *,^,r". and i

,',1'#"t*{,!lrx:t[:.ti*;;-J':df#
:*:i,iif Pftit'
onpartorth€boundarv'
*',uo,'pressure
:''ffi^'[ 6,7;l?'iilh:'rfg:lf".X;lllr*u"n"
plane ?roc
boundarv
*tftfr'^tl'ffiji;+r*5;1**rti?'k'!"'f'1""!Kl^';*;l'io';u"
Lq,';qp,,,'ii'*;*.':*;:q.,:::::"i.:::ffi::":"":
duetoadgidcircularroundation'
ana'isotropicraver
Ir'*t{:t. nful"'l'"":*;}:;3i.1nl:;?';.,tn ' Giotechnique22'
in atightlv clav
overconsoli'late'L
Y'""i*l;i*liyo #"uffi-.. uom isotrop.v
orbu'dins ondeep soit' rnt soitMech
compressible
tturement

*,rt#ti,6{ii.tg;*,#${;};**;;g;,.r,::::J:";:;,J
I{fi}iii:{#ir-}g'r:t"

"::'"""':il"'::*T.,
-"I#i!f:i;x:.M415ji,,,,,..,.'"ompu!a!ionofvel.tica1displacementsi[elasticfoundations.
behaviolrr
se"remenr-time
""*;*);y: i;ilg*lll[ilililgfti';:1i. * o,.'. o , *6b,.Load

*-;ii,g:li:+l*,ruiii:?s;t;*rrr;1if,';.t'ir'r'
x;j#ilt*if
*"{i***r.{;;.'.I
;$#f$3iltar*rfr'srfi*tqf lll''fs"3'"'*'i;'"
h";*::;
,,.i'"T:,(:i:ti,;'i,"'tru1ru*li"iil'1":*l:ru[:t'
M'm
Roscoe '
s'mp
"+"El*:*ir,g;*i***t*::+i""i*il:
#5f5"{iffi .---/

i'*t'.ili}.{
ill"i'efil.$ i3i#'*' ;*,*;?
:*:f"'::ii,.:irtiltfu
a',1,
;i':,r:;:ili
*t1#tdartiff':"^i',^Itt}.r"",'"",r. clavat theAshford
of rheLondon
properries
s. c. rr,165).
*%o;J;.|;nltL"'xli;"i;,fi,ii'i5tri,?!#*rlrr;:l.,"po,o,,lollJu,.o.ruv.
p,oc. t4c,i,.
Ros.oe
s'";i*l.,',-,lJJf,i:;'ii
'"'iili;J;5;'1i"'*xiii";i]'-t *:"3::r:?:li;:j:ii;::i:i''i:';;#i:'""
!l?'l"h*::"i;::l'?"j
VOTE OF THANKS

;r:,T'3i'.::$l:il11""!Ji"t:Iil[:l*l**it;{
,''''Wl;li";-il*.:iii;
::*':ffi jxriffi:li;:*l;li':1il."J:'r#5"H::'J':l
l"i:?!iil[ii:t
the engineer'sneed to
un(
 14O

I
& E. crBsoN
geotechnicsdependedon two vital ingedients: observationand analysis.
Dr Burland said
that therewasoften tension betweenthe two, and it was dght that there should be, but that the
engineerignoredeitherat his peril.
He continuedthat in the past, the majority of Rankine Lectureshad beenconcernedpri-
marily with observationsand measurementsand their interpretation, and that those present
had heard a brilliant and masterlylecture on the analytical mithod in soil mechanic delirered
by one of its best known and most outstanding exponents. The subject *.as particularly
timely in view of the cuffent tendencytowards increasedsophistication in preoi.ioos usin!
powerful numerical techniquesand complex material laws. More than erer before there
wai
a need for clear and precise analytical solutions to fundamental essentiallj' pracdcal
Ft
problems. Such solutions provided the vital framework on rvhich ro han,eg5pe;.-.ce .r4
Juogement.
ProfessorGibson had shown us that the analytical method *,as much nore than the ability
to solve mathematical equations although Dr Burland received the inpression that it was
inportant to be able to do so. The fact that he had shown tho." pIE..o, so few eouations
was a causefor relief and gatitude on their pa't and for congratulatiol on that of dofessor
Gibson. The method appearedto consistmuch more in asking the right questiou and
formulatingthe right analyticalmodelsto answerthosequestions. Dr Borland saidahathe
also suspected that therewas a touch of mysticismabout the method;to serr-fes peoplewai
granted the ability to get the oracle to talk: professor Gibson was one of the fers \rith this
gift, and perhapsthe oracle did not always ta-tkfor him either-
Dr Burland went on to mention a number of qualities that characterizedp.ofcsor Gibson,s
work. Elegancewas one of them and flare another. Much of his*ork also containedan
elementof surprise,an elementofthe unexpected;ashad beenseentlar er:ning his rqork often
yielded results which were contrary to one,sintuition yet obvious once-rb:; had been demon_
strated. This had occurred sufrciently frequently for the engileer io be ser-r-$ary about
trusting to his owa judgementtoo much.
Dr Burland felt sure that those presentwould agreewith hirn thar rhe Four-reenthRankinE
L€ctue representedan important milestone in the progress of soil raechaaics. The paper
would be thoughtfully studied and widely usedfor many y,earsto coEe-
It was both a great honour and a very great pleasurefor Dr Burlaad ro DroDosea sincere.-
vote of thanksto ProfessorGibsonfor deliveringthe L€cture.
The rcte of thanks was accordedwith acclamqtion