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61-81 (1998)
61
Abstract
Non destructive testing techniques based on the
application of dynamic loads on the surface of a soil deposit or
a pavement system, and the measurement of the resulting
deflection basins or the phase difference between the motions
recorded at various receivers have become powerful tools in
civil engineering. In many cases, however, the interpretation of
the recorded data relies on static analyses, ignoring entirely
dynamic needed for a correct dynamic interpretation using
wave propagation theory propagation in an elastic half space, a
homogeneous layer of finite thickness resting on a rigid base,
and a horizontally layered medium in general are presented
with special emphasis on the interpretation of the data collected
in the Falling Weight Deflectometer ( FWD ) and the Spectral
Analysis of Surface Wave ( SASW ) tests.
1 Introduction
The effects of the soil on the characteristics
of earthquake motions (soil amplification) and on
the seismic response of structures (soil structure
interaction) were problems of great interest in the
1960s and 70s. Through a considerable amount
of research a number of different formulations
were developed and proposed to solve these
problems with varying degrees of sophistication.
Some of these formulations were based on
continuous wave propagation theory, while others
relied on discrete models using finite differences,
finite elements or boundary elements. The former
provide rigorous solutions for cases with relatively
simple geometry, such as a homogeneous elastic
half-space. These solutions are directly applicable
to a number of practical cases, can be used as first
estimates for preliminary design purposes in other
situations, and always serve as benchmarks to
evaluate the accuracy of numerical procedures.
The latter allow one to consider more general,
arbitrary geometries and nonlinear behavior but are
subject to discretization errors which must be
controlled by appropriately refining the meshes
and increasing the number of degrees of freedom.
Clearly a combination of both types of approaches
is needed to make progress in the research effort
and to solve actual problems with a good degree of
confidence.
The increase in the accuracy of the analytical
and computational solutions developed through
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2 Theoretical Formulation
w(r ) =
where r =
r
Vs
Pexp (it )
w(r )
Gr
is a dimensionless frequency, r is
()
()
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a2
f (v)
G
for
the
horizontal
0.286( 2 2 i 2 2 )
displacement
and
for
the
vertical
displacement.
The exact solution at any distance can be
expressed as an integral involving a product of
Bessel functions. The integrand has a pole
corresponding to the Rayleigh wave. The result is
given by two branch line integrals which represent
the effect of the body waves plus the residue at the
Rayleigh pole, which represents the effect of the
surface wave (Foinquinos 1995).
Figure 9 shows the amplitude of the vertical
displacement normalized again by the factor
Ga P as a function of a dimensionless distance
r a where a is the radius of the circular harmonic
load. Results are shown for different values of a
dimensionless frequency
a0 = a Vs .
It can be seen that the magnitude and shape
of the surface displacements are frequencydependent. For a value of a0 = 3.5 , which is very
close to the first Rayleigh wave critical frequency,
the displacements essentially vanish at a distance
of about 2.5 times the Rayleigh wave wavelength
(equal to 1.65 a for this frequency).
Fig. 10 shows the partition of power for a
uniform circular load. It should be noticed that in
this case the fraction of power held by the
Rayleigh wave is smaller and that it decreases
significantly with increasing values of the
dimensionless frequency. P waves carry an
important fraction of the power for low values of
Poissons ratio, particularly at high frequencies,
whereas S waves become the predominant ones
for values of Poissons ratio close to 0.5.
case of a circular disk vibrating harmonically and
normally on the free surface of a half-space. They
68
Consider
a pavement system or a soil
deposit that consists of horizontal layers. The
mass densities and elastic moduli change with
depth, from layer to layer, but are (assumed to be)
constant over each layer. For a pavement, the top
layer could represent the pavement surface layer
(assuming that it extends to infinity in both
horizontal directions), the second layer would be
the base, and the remaining layers the sub-base
layer and/or the soil subgrade. Determination of
the response of this system to dynamic loads
applied on the surface (or at any point within the
profile) falls mathematically into the area of wave
propagation theory.
Formulation of these problems starts
normally by considering steady-state harmonic
forces and displacements at a given frequency. For
the case of the Dynaflect this is all that is needed.
For an arbitrary transient excitation (case of the
FWD or the SASW), the time history of the
specified forces must be decomposed into different
frequency components using a Fourier series, or
more conveniently a Fourier transform. Results
are then obtained for each term of the series (each
frequency) and combined to obtain the time history
of displacements (inverse Fourier transform).
For a single layer with uniform properties
and a given frequency , the stresses and
displacements along the top and bottom surfaces
can be expanded in a Fourier series in the
circumferential direction and a series of Bessel (or
modified Bessel) functions in the radial direction.
For each term of the series, corresponding to a
given wave number, one can determine closed
form analytical expressions in the form of a
transfer matrix relating amplitudes of stresses and
displacements at the bottom surface to the
corresponding quantities at the top (or vice-versa).
This approach has served as the basis for most
studies on wave propagation through layered
media in the last 35 years. An alternative is to
relate the stresses at both surfaces to the
displacements obtaining a dynamic stiffness matrix
for the layer (Kausel and Roesset, 1981), which
can be used and understood in much the same way
as done in structural analysis. For a half-space, the
stiffness matrix relates the stresses at the top to the
displacements at the same level. For the particular
case at hand, with an axisymmetric load, only one
term of the Fourier series is needed (the 0 term)
and the vector of radial and vertical displacements
u, w can be written as
0
J1 (kr )
u
Udk
V = = 0k
J0 (kr )
w
0
Pr
0
P = = q 0 r a
Pz
1
where q is the amplitude of the load and a is the
radius of the loaded area. In the wavenumber
domain, the load can be expressed as
P=
1
2
0
J1 (kr )
r
Pddr .
J 0 (kr)
0
KU = P
where K is the dynamic stiffness matrix of the
profile obtained by assembling the stiffness
matrices of the layers and the underlying halfspace.
If u1 and w1 are the first two terms of the
vector U , obtained by solving for a vector P with
all components 0 and a 1 as the second term (for
every value of k ), the surface displacements as a
function of the distance r to the center of the
loaded area become
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K = Ak + Bk + G M
2
u=
2n+ 2
u w k (k
i
i =1
w=
2n +2
w (k
2
i=1
k
ki2 )
1
ki2 )
70
f p = Vp 4H
where Vp is the P wave velocity of the material
and H is the layer thickness. The value of Vp
increases, however, without bound as Poissons
ratio approaches 0.5. Fig. 13 shows the variation
of the threshold frequency f , divided by the shear
frequency fs = Vs 4H as a function of Poissons
ratio. Shown in the figure are also the values of
the so-called Lysmer analog f La which had been
proposed as an estimate of the threshold vertical
frequency. It can be seen that for values of
Poissons ratio below 0.3, the value of f is
essentially f p . For larger values of Poissons ratio
the solution is different. It tends to the Lysmer
analog frequency for very high values of Poissons
ratio (above 0.45).
3 Fwd Testing
Two generalized pavement profiles, a
flexible one and a rigid one, were selected to
illustrate the dynamic response of pavement
systems to application of FWD and SASW.
Because variations in total unit weight ( ),
Poissons ratio ( v ), and damping ratio ( D ) have
minor effects on the dynamic response (within
ranges of logical values) as compared with changes
in the stiffnesses of the layers, they were taken to
be the same for all the layers; that is =120 lb/ft3
(18,850 N/m3), v =0.35 and D =0.02. The elastic
properties and thicknesses of the layers in both
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4 Sasw Testing
Fig. 25 illustrates the basic concept behind
the Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves (SASW)
technique. Assuming the propagation of a surface
(generalized Rayleigh) wave, a wave with a short
wavelength (high frequency) would only penetrate
the first layer and would propagate with the
Rayleigh wave velocity of this layer. Calculating
the velocity of propagation from the phase
difference between the motions at two receivers,
one could then obtain the Rayleigh wave velocity
of the top layer and assuming a value of Poissons
ratio its shear wave velocity. Assuming also a
value of the mass density, one could finally
determine the shear modulus or the Youngs
modulus of the material. Considering next a
smaller frequency and a wave with a longer
wavelength its phase velocity would depend on the
properties of the first two layers. Once the
modulus of the top layer was known, one could
then determine the properties of the second layer
that would yield the measured phase velocity. One
could then proceed taking smaller and smaller
frequencies, computing the properties of the
different layers in a sequential way. As the
previous discussion on the propagation of waves in
a layered medium (or even a half-space) due to a
dynamic load distributed over a circular area
pointed out, the concept of a single surface wave
propagating horizontally is only an approximation,
and the actual situation is more complicated. Even
so, the basic concept of the method is still valid.
The main question is what procedure must be used
to determine the phase velocities for a given
(assumed) profile to compare them with the
experimental data.
In the field application of the SASW
technique, it is common to place two receivers at a
distance between themselves equal to the distance
between the source and the first receiver (Fig. 26).
The source can vary from a small hammer to a
large drop weight depending on the application and
the desired range of frequencies (and wavelengths)
to be generated. For each position of the receivers,
several impacts are applied with the source on one
side, then on the other. The motions at the two
receivers are recorded and processed by a spectral
analyzer that automatically computes the crossspectrum and the phase difference between
receivers as a function of frequency. The results of
the various impacts for a given setup are averaged,
yielding a variation of phase with frequency as
illustrated in Fig. 27, as well as a coherence
function. The results are expected to be valid over
the range of frequencies where the coherence is
close to unity. The phase difference obtained
varies from -180 to 180 degrees. It is necessary to
unfold these results as illustrated in Fig. 28 (this
process may present difficulties in some cases).
Tests are then repeated for different receiver
spacings. As the spacing between receivers (and
source to first receiver) increases, the results will
be valid over a range of smaller frequencies
(longer periods and longer wavelengths). The
previous discussion on wave propagation due to
dynamic loads had indicated that best results were
obtained when the spacing between receivers was
of the order of two wavelengths. It is not possible,
however, to keep changing the spacing in the field
for each frequency or wavelength as was done in
the original Rayleigh wave method (it would
become too time -consuming). One must thus
define for each setting a range of frequencies or
wavelengths over which the predictions are
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5 Conclusions
Nondestructive dynamic testing techniques
such as the Falling Weight Deflectometer or the
Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves can provide
economical and reliable measures of the elastic
moduli of pavement systems or soil deposits. The
interpretation of the experimental data to
backfigure the layer properties can be done in
some simple cases on the basis of approximate
formulations. In most cases, however, it is
necessary to try to simulate the complete threedimensional dynamic problem to get accurate
predictions. So for instance the interpretation of
FWD data using static analyses and ignoring,
therefore, inertial (dynamic) effects can lead to an
overestimation of the elastic moduli when
combined with the assumption of an infinite
subgrade; when accounting properly for the depth
79
2.
3.
Eringen,
A.C.,
and
Suhubi,
S.,
Elastodynamics, Vol. 2, Academic Press,
New York, NY, 1975.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
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