STRESS DISTRIBUTION IN A HOMOGENEOUS SOIL, WITH DISCUSSION

A LONG-RANGE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF STRESSES AND STRAINS IN FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS UNDER AIRPLANES, TO OBTAIN DATA TO USE IN DEVELOPING A THEORETICAL METHOD OF FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT DESIGN. A HOMOGENEOUS CLAYEY-SILT TEST SECTION, CONTAINING 37 EARTH PRESSURE CELLS AND 5 DEFLECTION GAGES, WAS BUILT AND TESTED BY THE WATERWAYS EXPERIMENT STATION AT VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI. THE PROGRAM OF TESTS INCLUDED MEASUREMENTS OF STRESSES IN THE VERTICAL, TWO HORIZONTAL, AND TWO DIAGONAL DIRECTIONS AND MEASUREMENTS OF DEFLECTIONS IN THE VERTICAL DIRECTION. THIS PAPER DESCRIBES THE PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE TEST SECTION AND THE TESTING EQUIPMENT AND ALSO PRESENTS SOME OF THE RESULTS THAT WERE OBTAINED. THE TEST RESULTS ARE DISCUSSED AND COMPARISONS ARE MADE WITH VALUES COMPUTED FROM THE THEORY OF ELASTICITY. DATA ARE PRESENTED SHOWING COMPARISONS BETWEEN FIELD STRESS- STRAIN RELATIONS OBTAINED IN THE TEST SECTION WITH THOSE OBTAINED IN LABORATORY TRIAXIAL TESTS. /AUTHOR/