STRESS DISTRIBUTION

Stress due to surface loading

Introduction
To analyze problems such as compressibility of
soils, bearing capacity of foundations, stability
of embankments, and lateral pressure on earth
retaining structures, we need to know the
nature of the distribution of stress along a
given cross section of the soil profile.
Stress due to concentrated load
Individual column footings or wheel loads may be
replaced by equivalent point loads provided that the
stresses are to be calculated at points sufficiently far
from the point of application of the point load.

Vertical stress due to a concentrated load

• Boussinesq’s Formula
• Westergaard Formula
Point loading(Boussinesq’s equations)
Boussinesq (1883) solved the problem for stresses inside a
semi-infinite , isotropic and homogeneous soil mass
due to a point load acting on the surface. In rectangular
coordinates, the stresses may be expressed as follows

where
Q= Point load
R = √z2 + r2
r = √x2 + y2
In cylindrical coordinates, the stresses may be expressed as
follows:

Also,

σz= I4Qz2 ....(i) Point load in cylindrical coordinates

Where
Westergaard’s Formula for point load
Boussinesq assumed that the soil is elastic, isotropic and homogeneous for the
development of a point load formula. However, the soil is neither isotropic nor
homogeneous. The most common type of soils that are met in nature are the water
deposited sedimentary soils. When the soil particles are deposited in water, typical
clay strata usually have their lenses of coarser materials within them. The soils of
this type can be assumed as laterally reinforced by numerous, closely spaced,
horizontal sheets of negligible thickness but of infinite rigidity, which prevent the
mass as a whole from undergoing lateral movement of soil grains. Westergaard, a
British Scientist, proposed (1938) a formula for the computation of vertical stress
oz by a point load, Q, at the surface as
Variation between influence factors IB(I4) and IW
Stress due to Vertical line load on the surface
The  stresses at a point P defined by r and θ can be determined by using the stress
Function

In polar coordinate system , expression of stresses are

As follows:

Vertical line load inside a soil mass

After substitution we get,
σr = ,
σθ = 0
rθ = 0.
Using
  the above expressions for σr ,σθ and rθ, we can derive the stresses in the
rectangular coordinate system;
σz =
=
=
Similarly,

and

for plain strain,

By  relating displacements to stresses via strain, the vertical displacement w( at the
surface (i. e., z = 0) can be obtained as;

Where
E = modulus of elasticity
µ = poisson’s ratio
C = a constant
Vertical line load inside the surface
In some cases, the line load may be embedded. Melan (1932) gave the solution
of stresses at a point P due to a vertical line load of q per unit length applied
inside a semi-infinite mass (at point A, Figure ). The final equations are given
below:
Horizontal line load on the surface
  stresses due to a horizontal line load of q per unit length (see figure) can be
The
evaluated by a stress function of the form

similarly as in case of vertical loading , we obtain equations as;

In rectangular coordinates ,

for a plain strain case,

Horizontal line load inside a solid
mass
If the horizontal line load acts inside a semi-infinite mass as shown in figure,
Melan’s solutions for stresses may be given as follows:
Vertical strip loading on the surface
Case  where a uniform vertical load of q per unit area is acting on a flexible infinite strip
on the surface of a semi-infinite elastic mass. To obtain the stresses at a point P(x,z), we
can consider an elementary strip of width ds located at a distance s from the centerline
of the load. The load per unit length of this elementary strip is q.ds, and it can be
approximated as a line load.
Increase of stress σz can be expressed as :

The total increase of vertical stress σz, at P due to

the loaded strip can be determined by integrating
above equation with limits of s = b to s=−b; so,
Vertical strip loading inside the
surface
Strip loads can be located inside a semi-infinite mass as shown in Figure
Horizontal strip loading on the
surface
If a uniform horizontal load is applied on an infinite strip of width 2b as shown in Figure
the stresses at a point inside the semi-infinite mass can be determined by using a similar
procedure of superposition as outlined in for vertical loading. For an elementary strip of
width ds, the load per unit length is q.ds. Approximating this as a line load, we can
substitute q.ds for q and x−s for x in Eqs.
Circular loaded area ( Circular loading )
Integration
  of the Boussinesq equation given previously can be adopted to obtain the
stresses below the center of a circularly loaded flexible area. Figure shows a circular area
of radius b being subjected to a uniform load of q per unit area. Consider an elementary
area dA. The load over the area is equal to q.dA, and this can be treated as a point load.
To determine the vertical stress due to the elementary load at a point P, we can substitute
q.dA for Q and √ (r2+z2) for R in Eq. .

Since dA=rdθdr ,the vertical stress due to entire loaded

area can be calculated as:
Note
  that σθ is a principal stress, due to symmetry. The remaining two principal stresses
can be determined as

Vertical displacement due to circular loaded

area
[
Vertical stress below a rectangular loaded area
The  stress at a point P at a depth z below the corner of a uniformly loaded (vertical)
flexible rectangular area (Figure) can be determined by integration of Boussinesq’s
equations given previously. The vertical load over the elementary area dx.dy may be
treated as a point load of magnitude q · dx · dy. The vertical stress at P due to this
elementary load can be evaluated with the aid of Eq.

The total increase of vertical stress at P due to the

entire loaded area may be determined by
integration of the above equation with horizontal
limits of x = 0 to x = L and y = 0 to y = B.
Newmark (1935) gave the results of the integration
in the following form:

Where
m=B/z and n=L/z