COMBINED HYPOTHESES FOR ANTICIPATING SOIL STRAINS BENEATH SURFACE IMPRESSIONS

SOME OF THE EXISTING HYPOTHESES AND METHODS FOR CATEGORIZING AND CHARACTERIZING THE MATERIALS AND SYSTEMS INVOLVED IN THE COMPACTION OF SOILS BY SURFACE LOADS ARE COMBINED TO FORM A HYPOTHETICAL MECHANISM FOR ANTICIPATING SOIL STRAINS BENEATH A UNIFORM VERTICAL PRESSURE APPLIED TO A SURFACE AREA OF FINITE WIDTH BUT INFINITE LENGTH. RESULTS COMPUTED USING THIS HYPOTHETICAL MECHANISM ARE COMPARED WITH THOSE FROM LABORATORY TESTS. /RRL/