Analytical layer element solutions for deformations of transversely isotropic multilayered elastic media under nonaxisymmetric loading

Abstract

SUMMARY This paper presents the analytical layer element solutions for deformations of transversely isotropic elastic media subjected to nonaxisymmetric loading at an arbitrary depth. The state vectors for the nonaxisymmetric problem are deduced through the substitution of the Hu Hai‐chang solutions into the basic equations for the transversely isotropic elastic media. From the state vectors, the analytical layer element of a single layer is obtained in the Hankel transformed domain. The analytical layer element is an exact and symmetric stiffness matrix whose elements are without positive exponential functions, which can not only simplify the calculation but also improve the stability of computation. On the basis of the continuity conditions between adjacent layers, the global stiffness matrix is obtained by assembling the interrelated layer elements. The solutions for the multilayered elastic media in the transformed domain are obtained by solving the algebraic equation of the global stiffness matrix, which satisfies the boundary conditions. The actual solutions in the physical domain are further obtained by inverting the Hankel transform. Finally, some cases are analyzed to verify the solutions and evaluate the influences of the transversely isotropic character and stratified character of the media on the load–displacement responses. The numerical results show that the variations of the elastic properties between layers have a great effect on the displacements of the multilayered media. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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