NPTEL- Advanced Geotechnical Engineering

Module 3
Lecture 12
Stresses in Soil Mass-2
Topics

1.1.4 Stresses due to a Horizontal Line Load on the Surface of a Semi-

infinite Mass
1.1.5 Stresses due to a Line Load inside a Semi-infinite Mass
Vertical line load
Horizontal line load
1.1.6 Stresses due to a Vertical Line Load on an Elastic Soil Layer Underlain
by a Right Rough Base

1.1.4 Stresses due to a Horizontal Line Load on the Surface of a Semi-infinite

Mass
The stresses due to a horizontal line load of q per unit length (Figure 3.7) can be evaluated by a stress
function of the form

(16)

The case of vertical line load, we obtain

(17)

(18)

(19)

In the rectangular coordinate system,

(20)

(21)

(22)

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NPTEL- Advanced Geotechnical Engineering

Figure 3.7 Horizontal line load on the surface of a semi-infinite mass

1.1.5 Stresses due to a Line Load inside a Semi-infinite Mass

Vertical line load : 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 3.8). The final
equations are given below:

Figure 3.8 Vertical line load inside a semi-infinite mass

(23)

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NPTEL- Advanced Geotechnical Engineering

Horizontal line load : For a horizontal line load of intensity q per unit length (Figure 3.9),
Melans solutions for stresses may be given as follows:

(26)

(27)

(28)

Figure 3.9 Horizontal line load inside a semi-infinite mass

1.1.6 Stresses due to a Vertical Line Load on an Elastic Soil Layer Underlain
by a Right Rough Base
Figure 10 shows an elastic soil layer of thickness h and underlain by a rigid rough base. A line load q per
unit length is acting on the surface of the soil layer. The vertical stress at a point can be expressed as
(Poulos, 1966)

(29)

Where is the vertical stress at a point is the influence factor, which is a function of
. The values of for various values of are given in table 2.

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NPTEL- Advanced Geotechnical Engineering

Figure 3.10 Vertical line load on a finite elastic layer

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