EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, VOL.

20,961-917 (1991)

TIME-HARMONIC BOUSSINESQ PROBLEM FOR A

CONTINUOUSLY NON-HOMOGENEOUS SOIL
CHRISTOS VRETTOS*
Department of Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, U.S.A.

SUMMARY
An analytical solution is presented for the response of a non-homogeneous, compressible, elastic half-space to a time-
harmonic vertical point load on its surface. The shear modulus is assumed to increase continuously with depth. The
model is chosen so as to describe uniformly deposited cohesionlesssoils. Expressions for displacements and stresses in the
interior of the half-space medium are derived by means of Hankel transforms and contour integration. Selected numerical
results are presented to demonstrate the influence of non-homogeneity.Finally, some effects are pointed out to be used in
connection with vibration tests for subsoil investigation.

INTRODUCTION
For small-amplitude vibrations the stress-strain behaviour of soil masses is satisfactorily described through a
linear-elastic, isotropic model. Even for non-layered soils a constant depth-profile for the shear modulus may
be a rather poor approximation to the real sub-soil conditions since soil stiffness usually varies with the
effective confining pressure, and accordingly with depth.' Experimental evidence shows that for uniformly
deposited cohesionlesssoils the shear modulus variation is best described by a sublinear function of the depth
coordinate.'.
The solution of the dynamic counterpart of the classical problem of Boussinesq4 dealing with a time-
harmonic normal force acting at the plane boundary of a semi-infinitesolid has useful application in several
branches of soil dynamics: A non-homogeneous medium will give rise to different surface wave modes which
correspond to solutions of the eigenvalue problem of free-field wave propagation. An insight into the
interaction of these different wave modes with one another is possible only after solving the boundary value
problem of forced vibrations. This will offer then valuable help in interpreting surface wave tests for non-
destructive subsoil investigation.'-' In the analysis of soil-structure interaction problems in non-homogen-
eous soils the solution may be utilized in connection with the method of subdivision of the contact area,8-' '
the Fredholm integral equations method12.l 3 and the boundary element method.14. '' Finally, the solution
of the continuous soil model can be used to test the accuracy of the various numerical methods developed to
treat dynamical problems in layered viscoelastic media.' 6-2
The first step in solving analytically boundary value problems in non-homogeneous media is the
determination of the general solution of the differential equations of steady-state elastodynamics for the
particular medium. For in-plane wave motions this is not an easy task, since the differential equations
governing the displacement field are coupled. The classical method of separation by introducing Helmholtz
potentials, as known from the treatment of the homogeneous half-space, works only in a few cases of the
constitutive parameters From the geomechanical point of view, the only meaningful one
among them is the case of the incompressible half-space with constant mass density. If the shear modulus is
taken to vary linearly with depth this model can approximately represent water-saturated normally

*Present address: Technical University of Berlin, Section of Geotechnical Engineering, Str. des 17. Juni 135, loo0 Berlin 12, Federal
Republic of Germany.

098-8847/91/ 100961-17$08.50 Received 2 July I990

0 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Revised 3 June 1991
962 C . VRETTOS

consolidated clays.29 The solutions for the displacement field are given then in terms of confluent
hypergeometric functions. A ~ o j o b i3 ~ ~,
1 studied the response of rigid footings on this soil model, the so-
called Gibsonzghalf-space, by solving approximately the corresponding boundary value problem at low and
high frequency factors, respectively. For another separable case, Karlsson and Hook3’ solved Lamb’s3
problem (response at the surface of the half-space due to dynamic surface loading). In this rather unrealistic
case the elastic parameters and the density vary as the square of depth, leaving the velocities of propagation
of compression and shear waves constant. In a different approach, suggested by I g n a c ~ a kand ~ ~R ~ O , ~36
’.
the in-plane elastodynamic problem is formulated in terms of the components of the stress-tensor associated
with the wave motion. Following this alternative Rao and G ~ d solved a ~ Lamb’s
~ problem for a compressible
half-space where the square of the shear wave velocity as well as the mass density increases with depth
according to an exponential function.
However, as shown recently by the author,38 it is not necessary to resort to these indirect problem
formulations: by choosing an appropriate class of soil models it is possible to solve directly the system of
differential equations for the displacement field. Since in uniformly deposited soil strata the mass density and
the Poisson’s ratio do not vary considerably with depth, attention in establishing a suitable soil model is
focused on the variation of the shear modulus with depth. The choice of a function which is bounded at
infinity is advantageous for two reasons: (i) it leads to power series solutions for the differential equations and
(ii) it offers the possibility to split the surface wave term into the contributions from the particular surface
wave modes.39For such a type of function the author studied analytically anti-plane and in-plane surface
wave propagation40*38 and derived plane-strain surface Green’s functions, i.e. the surface displacement field
due to surface line loads.41,39 The capability of the soil model proposed to match the real subsoil conditions
has also been tested on the basis of in situ wave propagation tests on uniformly deposited sands.42
In the sequel, the more realistic axisymmetric problem is studied analytically for the same model whereby
the domain of the solution is extended to points in the interior of the half-space. The integral expressions for
the displacement field are derived using classical Hankel transform techniques and subsequently evaluated
using contour integration by means of the residue theorem. Selected numerical results are presented to
demonstrate the influence of non-homogeneity and some interesting features regarding the application of the
results in practice are pointed out.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Let (r, 4, z ) be a cylindrical coordinate system with the z-axis perpendicular to the surface of a linear-elastic,
isotropic and compressible half-space, as shown in Figure 1. The mass density Q and the Poisson’s ratio v are
assumed to be constant whereas the shear modulus G varies with depth according to
G(z) = Go + ( G , - G,)(1 - e-“’), 0 < Go < G , (1)
G o and G, are the shear moduli at the surface and at infinite depth, respectively, and a is a constant of the
dimension of inverse length. At the origin of the coordinate system the half-space is subjected to a time-
harmonic vertical point load of circular frequency o and magnitude Q,Figure 1. Owing to the axisymmetric
nature of the problem the motions generated by this load configuration are independent of the angular
coordinate C#I and only displacements u and w in the r- and z-directions, respectively, occur.
The equations of motion read43

where oij (i, j = r, 4, z ) are the components of the stress-tensor and t denotes time.
By combining the constitutive relation for linear-elastic, isotropic material with the small
strain-displacement relations we obtain the following expressions for the relations between stresses and
 TIME-HARMONIC BOUSSINESQ PROBLEM 963

Figure 1. The problem under consideration

where G = G(z) is defined by equation (1).

Substituting the above stress-displacementrelations into the equations of motion (2) and (3) and assuming
harmonic motion, i.e.
u(r, z, t ) = u(r, z)e'"' (8)
w(r, z, t) = w(r, z)eim' (9)
we obtain a system of two coupled partial differential equations for the spatial variation of the displacement
components u(r, z) and w(r, z),

(10)

The boundary conditions for the stresses on the half-space read:

for z = 0 : c&, z) = Q6(r)
orz(r,z) = 0
where 6 (. ) is the Dirac delta function.
In addition, the solution must be such that the stresses and displacements are bounded at a remote
distance and only outward waves propagating from the source appear (radiation condition).
964 C. VRETTOS

The twocoupled second-order partial differential equations (10) and (11) subjected to the above boundary
conditions define the boundary value problem for the response of the non-homogeneous half-space to the
vertical surface point load.

GENERAL SOLUTION
The general solution of the system of differential equations (10)-(11) can be obtained by employing a Hankel
transform for the radial coordinate r. Following S n e d d ~ we n ~set
~

s::j
u(r, z) =

w(r, z) =
kii(k, z) J, (kr)dk

kw(k, z)Jo(kr)dk

where k is the Hankel transform parameter and J , is the Bessel function of the first kind of order n.
Substitution of equations (14) and (15) in equations (10) and (1 1) and making use of the expressions for the
Hankel transform of the derivatives of a function44yields

- + - - +dG aii
G a2ii 1 --V dw
kG--
dG
k-G =0 (16)
az2 dz aZ dz dz

G-
azW dG
+- aii dG
-- + V(w2@- k Z G ) w+ (1 - 3 k G - + (1 - 2 v 3 k - g ~ 0
azz dz aZ aZ dz (17)
where
-
y - 1-2v
2(1 - v)
The shear modulus variation, equation (l), may be written in the simpler form
G = G,(l- t) (19)
by transforming the depth coordinate z to
5 = Eoe-az
where

So can be regarded as a measure of the non-homogeneity of the half-space medium. So = 0 corresponds to

the homogeneous half-space (Go = G - ) .
Inserting the above transformations into the differential equations (16)-( 17) results in

and
a2C2(1- 5)w” + a2t(1 - 2t)W’ + v[s2 k2(1 - t)]W
-

- a(l - G)kt(l - 5)U’ + a(l - 2ij)ktU = 0 (23)

where

are the wave numbers at infinite depth of the compression and the shear wave, respectively, and ( )’ denotes
differentiation with respect to t.
 TIME-HARMONIC BOUSSINESQ PROBLEM 965

Analytical solutions for the system of linear differential equations (22)-(23) can be found by using the
A' detailed derivation is outlined in Reference 38 and is
Frobenius method (extended power series m e t h ~ d ) . ~
omitted here for brevity. According to this procedure the general solutions for U and W are given by a linear
combination of four power series
4
u(k, g) =
i=1
Ai(k) f
n=O
4 m
G(k, <) = 2 Ai(k) C b):
i= 1 n=O
where

and Ai(k)are arbitrary functions to be determined from appropriate boundary conditions. The coefficientsof
the power series are determined for
ab" = 1 (i= 1 , . . . , 4 ) (28)
and
b(i)-2am. k
0 - (i = 1, 3); bg) = ~ (i = 2,4) (29)
k ami
by the two coupled recurrence relations

where
E l l = a2C(n+ mi)' + p 2 - k2 (32)
E I 2 = a(1 - V)k(n + mi) (33)
E2l = El2 (34)
E,, = C(k2 - s2) - az(n + mi)' (35)
El = [a2V(n + mi)@ + mi - 1) - k2] alf"- + ak [(n + mi 1) - V(n + mi - 2)] bii'_ (36)
E2 = ak[(l - f)(n + mi)- C]a?)_l+ [Ck2 - a2(n + mi)(n + mi - l)]b:Ll (37)
The general solutions for the stress components are obtained by inserting the general solutions for the
displacements, equations (14)-( 15) and (25)-(26), into the stress-displacement relations (4)-(7), cf.
Snedd0n.4~Although a,, and 09+are not needed for determining the displacement field due to the vertical
point load, they are given here for the sake of completeness:

v m
aM(r, z) = 2Gm(1- <)- k[kC(k, 5 ) - a<W'(k, t)]Jo(kr)dk
1 - 2v Jo
966 C. VRETTOS

fJzz(r,z) = -~
2Gm(1 -
1 - 2v
')Jam
k [vkC(k, 5 ) - a ( l - v)tW'(k, 5)3 Jo(kr)dk

SOLUTION OF THE BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEM

To satisfy the radiation condition at infinity we set
A, = A, =0 (42)
The remaining two arbitrary functions A, (k) and A2(k)are determined by the two boundary conditions at
the surface of the half-space (5 = Eo).Writing the discontinuous surface load function as an inverse Hankel
tr a n ~ f o r m ~ ~
q(r) = 1; kJo (kr)dk (43)

and substituting relation (40) into the boundary condition for the normal tractions, equation (12),we obtain

Ai(k)RN,(k) + AZ(k)RNz(k)= Q7~ 1-

-2v
4G,
-

where
RNi(k)= vk c
m

n=O
u:) - ~ ( -l V)
m

n=O
(n + mi)!$'

Similarly, inserting relation (41) into the boundary condition for the shear tractions, equation (13), yields

where
a m
RTi(k)= u C (n + mi)~;)E:+'"' + k 1 b:)9:+"'
n=O n=O

Solving the system of linear simultaneous equations (44) and (46) for A , and A, we obtain

(48)
where
RNIRT2 - RNzRTl
D ( k ) = 2- (49)
1 - 2v
Substituting the above solutions for the arbitrary functions A, (k) and A,(k) into equations (25)-(26) and
performing the inverse Hankel transform, equations (14)-( 19, results in the following explicit solution for the
displacement field at any point within the domain of the non-homogeneous elastic half-space:

(51
where
 TIME-HARMONIC BOUSSINESQ PROBLEM 967

The expressions for the associated stress tensor components may be obtained by substituting (25) and (26)
into equations (38)-(41).
Setting E, = 0, expressions (50) and (51) reduce to those derived by Lamb33for the displacement field at
the surface of a homogeneous half-space with shear modulus Go = G,,

uH(r)= --
k2(2k2- k;, - 2 d q J m ~J , (kr)dk
) (54)
D, (k)

where k,, = w a ,k,, = 3 k s o and

DR(k)= (2k2 - go)’- 4k2 ,/- ,/-

is the well-known Rayleigh function. The opposite sign of the expressions (54) and (55) compared to those
given by Lamb33 and Ewing et is due to the different sign convention for the surface point load.

EVALUATION O F THE INTEGRAL EXPRESSIONS

Examining the denominator function (49) of the integral expressions for the displacement field derived above
it can be seen that its roots are the solutions of the characteristic equation of the eigenvalue problem of free
SV/P (in-plane) surface wave p r o p a g a t i ~ nFor
. ~ ~the homogeneous half-space only one positive root of the
Rayleigh function (56) exists and corresponds to the Rayleigh surface wave.33 For the non-homogeneous
half-space, however, the number of roots depends on the non-homogeneity of the half-space medium as well
as on frequency, each root being attributed to a particular mode of surface wave p r ~ p a g a t i o nWhile
. ~ ~ for a
shear modulus depth-function which is unbounded at infinity, e.g. the Gibson soil model or a power law
variation, the number of the roots of the characteristic equation is infinite:’ for a bounded variation, like the
one considered here, this number remains finite for the entire range of variation of the parameters involved.38
The zeros of the denominator function introduce singularities in the integrand, thus precluding direct
numerical integration. We can overcome this difficulty by using contour integration.33946 Choosing an
appropriate integration path and making use of the residue theoremq8 we can express the total half-space
response as contributions from body waves and surface waves, the latter being a superposition of the
particular surface wave modes. The choice of a bounded variation for G ( z )is advantageous in this context,
since the residue theorem requires a finite number of singularities of the integrand function.48
The method which is adopted here to evaluate the improper integrals

is described by Ewing et Expressing the Bessel functions J , as a sum of Hankel functions of the first and
second kind4’
2J,(kr) = H!,’)(kr) + Hi2)(kr)
and defining
Bt)(kr) = H$)(kr), B$)(kr)= Hy)(kr) (i = 1, 2)
the integrals 1. and I , are written as
968 C. VRETTOS

where

The real variable k is replaced by the complex variable [= k + ir. The radicals (27) then become complex
valued, riil = k J m i a and f i z = & ,/-/a, and branch points occur at ( p , 0) and (s, 0). To make
the integrand functions single valued, branch cuts along the lines %(fi,)= 0 and %(&) = 0 through the
branch points are introduced, whereby the requirements %(&) 2 0 and % ( f i 2 )2 0 are maintained to satisfy
the radiation condition. The imaginary parts of fil and fi2 are discontinuous along the branch cuts, the signs
being determined following Ewing et ~ 1 The. poles ~ ~k(n ( j= 1, . . . , I) of the integrand are infinitesimally
displaced below the real axis into the fourth quadrant of the complex E-plane so as to assure the proper
physical characteristic of the singularities, i.e. waves propagating forward in time. The resulting integration
contours rland r2 are depicted in Figure 2.
+
The superscripts ‘ ’ or ‘ - ’ are introduced to denote that the complex integrand functions

are determined for J(fii) 2 0 or J(fii) < 0 ( i = 1, 2), respectively. Here %( ) = real part of and
G( ) = imaginary part of.
Integrating along the contour rl by Cauchy’s theorem and making use of the fact that Hil)(Er) vanish
along the infinite arcs49 leads to
Pm

The integrals I(,’) are evaluated by applying the residue theorem to contour r2.Taking into account the
different signs of the imaginary parts of the radicals f i , and 6,along the various segments of the integration
contour46 and making use of the fact that (Err) vanish along the infinite arcs4’ we obtain

/
/
, I

Figure 2. Integration contours in the complex wave number plane

 TIME-HARMONIC BOUSSINESQ PROBLEM 969

where

The integrals and I;23) can be simplified, since the functions F; and f; are complex conjugates over the
yl),
respective integration intervals. The integrals I on the other hand, can be combined with the integrals I:1)
and simplified using (i) the relations between the Hankel functions HL1)and Hi2) and the modified Bessel
function of the second kind K, and (ii) the following properties of the integrand functions: Fund FWare odd
and even functions, respectively, of it, and : F and FG are the complex conjugates of - F; and pi,
respectively. The residuum at the pole kQ is computed by48
r 1

Hence,

and

The above integrals are non-singular and convergent and thus they can be evaluated numerically without
any difficulty. The differentiation of the denominator function D(k) is also performed numerically, since
analytical differentiation was not possible owing to the coupling of the power series in the fundamental
solution,
Looking at equations (71) and (72), it can be seen that the semi-infinite integrals are real valued both for the
horizontal and the vertical displacement and, because of the non-oscillatory modified Bessel functions K,,
are dying out with distance from the source. The finite integrals and the residue sum from the surface waves
poles are complex valued owing to the presence of the complex Hankel functions. It should be also noted that
at the surface of a homogeneous half-space the first two integrals of the solutions for the horizontal
displacement, equation (71), vanish, as e ~ p e c t e d . ~ ~ . ~ ~

NUMERICAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Since the modified Bessel functions K , ( [ r ) are monotonically decaying with [r the infinite integrals in
equations (71) and (72) can be replaced by a series of finite integrals whereby the respective intervals of
integration are successively doubled and a five-point Gaussian quadrature scheme is applied to each of
970 C. VRETTOS

them.” The series are truncated as soon as the desired accuracy criterion is met. The finite integrals in
equations (71) and (72) are first decomposed into pure real and pure imaginary parts by expressing the
Hankel functions in terms of Bessel functions of the first and second kind, J , and Y,, respectively. Real and
imaginary parts are then simultaneously evaluated using a five-point Gaussian quadrature scheme. For the
computation of the derivative of the denominator function, appearing in the expressions for the residue sum,
a five-point central difference formula has been chosen. The computational time required is strongly affected
by the speed of the series convergence and accordingly increases with increasing value of the non-
homogeneity parameter E,.
For a prescribed value of Poisson’s ratio v the response on the surface of the homogeneous half-space due
to a static surface point load is inversely proportional to G and r.4 For the time-harmonic case, the
displacements depend further on the dimensionless frequency parameter
W = ks,r (73)
The introduction of non-homogeneity yields additional independent parameters. For the shear modulus
variation treated herein these parameters are the degree of non-homogeneity E, and the dimensionless non-
homogeneity gradient

To validate the formulae derived above and the accuracy of the numerical integration, the solution presented
is computed for the surface of a homogeneous half-space (E, = 0) and compared with known solutions
available in the literature. The agreement with the results reported in References 9 and 10 is found to be
excellent.
Next, we study the behaviour of a non-homogeneous half-space model with E, = 0.7 and v = 113 for two
values of 8. For an excitation frequencyf= w/2n = 50 Hz, k,, = 2.68 m-’ and a = 0.35, the chosen values
E,, v and 8 = 7.65 describe the soil profile of the uniform sand deposit investigated experimentally in
Reference 42. The variation with distance from the source and excitation frequency of the surface
displacement field u(r) and w(r) is computed and presented graphically in dimensionless form in Figures 3
and 4. The wave numbers k ( j ) of the SV/P surface wave modes are determined as the roots of equation (49)
and are given in Table I for reference. In Figures 3 and 4 the corresponding solutions for the homogeneous
half-space are also depicted so that the effect of non-homogeneity is visible. For a given excitation frequency
the solution for the non-homogeneous half-space converges to that of the homogeneous half-space of shear
modulus G = Go as 8 tends to infinity, which implies a + 0.

- 7 -.
.7-
0 5 -
w 15 0 5 10 2 15

(4 (bi

Figure 3. Real part (a) and imaginary part (b) of the horizontal surface displacement versus the frequency parameter 6.The solid lines
are for the non-homogeneous soil model with 3, = 0-7 and v = !/3 at two values of the non-homogeneity gradient parameter 8, the
dashed lines are for the homogeneous half-space.
 TIME-HARMONIC BOUSSINESQ PROBLEM 971

.30 .30

R(w)Gor B(w)Gor
Q .15
Q .15

0 0

-.15 -.15
-.30 -.30
0 5 10 15 0 5 10 a 15

(a) (b)
Figure 4. Real part (a) and imaginary part (b) of the vertical surface displacement versus the frequency parameter 3.The solid lines are
for the non-homogeneoussoil model with So = 0.7 and v = 1/3 at two values of the non-homogeneity gradient parameter 8, the dashed
lines are for the homogeneous half-space

Table I. Roots of equation (49) for 8, = 0-7 and v = 1/3

8= 7.65 8= 19.13
0-8358 0.9501
0-5963 0.71 14
05512 0.6343
0.5920
05675
0.5541

By decomposing the total response of the non-homogeneous half-space into body waves, represented by
the integral expressions in equations (70) and (71), and SV/P surface waves, represented by the residue sum,
u(r, z) = ug(r, z) + us@,z), w(r, z) = wB(r, z) + WS(Tr z ) (75)
where
1 1
1
us@,z ) = j = 1u p , WS(T, z) =j= 1 1wp (76)
it can be shown that along the surface the amplitude of the body waves decreases at a rate of at least l/r, while
that of the surface waves decreases in proportion to approximately l/&, as in the case of the homogeneous
h a l f - ~ p a c eThus,
. ~ ~ when interpreting surface wave field tests, it can be assumed that, at large distances from
the source (far field),the energy carried by the body waves is negligible compared with that transmitted by the
SV/P surface waves (superposition of all modes). To illustrate this, the absolute values of the complex surface
displacements u(r) and w(r)from Figures 3 and 4 are plotted over a wider range of ii, in Figure 5 concurrently
with the respective curves for the surface wave term %(T) and ws(r).For the vertical displacement component,
for example, we can observe in Figure 5(b) that the complete exact solution and the far field solution do not
a
differ considerably when 13> W Z l for = 7-65 and W > ii,Z2 for 8 = 19.13, respectively. At large distances
the amplitude curves clearly show interference patterns arising from the superposition of the different surface
wave modes.
972 C. VRETTOS

.5 1
IwlGor
IulGor
Q Q .5
.2

.2
.1

.1
.05

.05

.02
I I

Figure 5. Horizontal (a) and vertical (b) displacement amplitude versus the frequency parameter ii, at the surface of the non-
homogeneous soil model with 8, = 0 7 and v = 1/3 at two values of (solid lines). The dashed lines represent the corresponding
solutions u, and w, for the SV/P surface waves term

Another interesting feature of the surface displacement field is that, in contrast to the case of the
homogeneous half-space, the amplitude of the horizontal displacement may be larger than that of the vertical
displacement. This effect will depend on the non-homogeneity degree of the medium as well as on the
excitation frequency and has been also observed during in situ measurements of ground transmitted
vibrations.
As discussed in detail in Reference 38, the propagation characteristics of the fundamental SV/P surface
wave mode are similar to those of the classical Rayleigh wave in a homogeneous half-space, while the higher
modes show a different behaviour. For example, the fundamental mode of the vertical displacement is node-
free while the first higher mode has one node, the second two, etc. Higher modes propagate faster and
penetrate deeper than do lower modes. In order to identify the resulting mode of surface wave propagation
we evaluate the residue sum in equations (70)and (71) at various depths for given frequency parameter 0.The
non-homogeneity parameters of the half-space are the same as before. The displacements are then
normalized to a unit vertical amplitude at the surface

and plotted versus the normalized depth

wherel''' = 2n/k(')is the wavelength of the fundamental SV/P surface wave mode. The corresponding curves
are given for specific values of 0 in Figure 6. It can be clearly seen that, both for the horizontal and the
vertical displacement, the depth-profiles depend strongly on 0. For the non-dispersive homogeneous half-
space the normalized amplitude depth-profiles do not depend on frequency. They may be calculated from
equations (70) and (71) by choosing a sufficiently small value for Eo(Eo= 0 would yield t = 0). The resulting
depth-profiles are plotted in Figure 7 and are, as expected, identical to those in the displacement amplitudes
of the Rayleigh wave.' In many practical applications in geomechanics,however, we are interested mainly on
the displacement field at the surface, and for this case the influence of the higher modes is in general not
strong. This is demonstrated in Figure 8 which depicts the variation with ti, of the vertical and horizontal
displacement amplitude at the surface of the non-homogeneous soil model studied herein for the different
surface wave modes.
On the basis of dispersion curves obtained during a surface wave propagation field test it is possible to
backcalculate the elastic properties of the subsoil investigated.6*4 2 This evaluation procedure is considerably
 TIME-HARMONIC BOUSSINESQ PROBLEM 913

.s

1 .o

1.5

Figure 6. Displacementattenuation with depth for the SV/P surface waves term for the non-homogeneoussoil model with 8, = 0.7 and
v = 1/3 for specific values of the frequency parameter (?, at two values of the non-homogeneity gradient parameter 8: (a) 8= 7.65;
(b) = 1913.
974 C. VRETTOS

Figure 7. Displacement attenuation with depth for the SV/P waves term for So = 0.001 and v = 1/3. The dashed line is for the
horizontal, the solid line for the vertical displacement component

1 . . . . .
4

--- -- - -1

.will' ' . "

10 20
W
50
I .W1 55 10 20
w
50

(a) (b)
Figure 8. Horizontal (a) and vertical (b) displacement amplitudes of the different SV/P surface wave modes versus the frequency
parameter W at the surface of the non-homogeneous soil model with So = 0 7 and v = 1/3 and for 8 = 7.65 (solid lines) and 8 = 19.13
(dashed lines)

simplified by assuming that the dispersion curves produced by the vertical vibrator-which may be
modelled approximately as a point source-are equal to those of the fundamental mode of plane SV/P
surface wave propagation. The wavelength 2, = 2n/k, of the vertical motion generated by the point source
can be determined as a function of 0 from the phase angle

Figure 9 depicts the phase curves for the non-homogeneous soil model under consideration. The ratio
k,(G)/k,,is equal to the slope of the phase curve at given W.The k,,,(c5)/ho
values are then compared with
 TIME-HARMONIC BOUSSINESQ PROBLEM 975

a
Figure 9. Phase angle of the vertical displacement versus the frequency parameter 6 at the surface of the non-homogeneous soil model
with So = 0.7, v = 1/3 for two values of 8.

the k(')/ks0 values in Table I for the two values of 8 examined: With a relative error of less than 10 per cent
the wavelength 1, obtained from the half-space response to the point load can be replaced by the wavelength
A(1) of the fundamental SV/p surface wave for approximately I > Aw/2.
Finally, by inserting 1, = into equation (73) we obtain from the far field threshold frequency
parameters 6zl and 6z2, cf. Figure 5(b), the correspondingvalues of far field threshold distance I : x I, for
8 = 7-65 and r $ = 1.7 1, for e=
19-13, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
The solution of the response of the compressible, non-homogeneous, elastic half-space model to a periodic
vertical surface point load has been presented. By avoiding the introduction of potentials and choosing a
bounded function for the shear modulus depth-variation it has been shown that the corresponding boundary
value problem can be solved analytically by applying the classical method of Hankel transforms and contour
integration. The numerical values chosen for the parametric study are taken so as to describe realistic soil
conditions and excitation frequencies. Without laying claim to completeness, this study showed that (i) along
the surface the propagation velocity of the wave motion produced by the point load can be replaced at a
relatively short distance from the source by the phase velocity of the fundamental SV/P surface wave mode,
(ii) at a distance of a few wavelengths from the source the displacement amplitudes of the exact solution and
the surface wave term do not differ considerably and (iii) the amplitude response at the surface is strongly
affected by the soil conditions near the surface, while the influence of non-homogeneity becomes more
pronounced toward the interior of the half-space.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is grateful to the German Research Council (DFG) for generously supporting this work under
Grant 111 02-Vr 3/1-1. Thanks are also due to the Department of Civil Engineering of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and in particular to Prof. E. Kausel for providing the necessary facilities to complete
the project.
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