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Tamkang Journal of Science and Engineering, vol.1, No. 2, pp.

61-81 (1998)

61

Nondestructive Dynamic Testing of Soils and Pavements


Jose M. Roesset
Director, Offshore Technology Research Center
Department of Civil Engineering
Texas A&M University, U.S.A.

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

this research have led to a point where our ability


to solve the mathematical model far exceeds our
knowledge of the significant parameters which
must be used as input, such as the characteristics
and wave content of the expected earthquake
motions on one hand and the appropriate soil
properties and their variation with the state of
stresses on the other. Seismologists are working
actively on the reduction of the uncertainties
involved in the selection of the design earthquake.
Engineers are working on the development of more
reliable techniques to determine the soil properties
in the field in a fast and economical way.
At the same time that these developments
were taking place, it also became clear that while
we now have the ability to design new buildings to
reasonably withstand a credible earthquake, there
is a very large inventory of structures that were
designed and built before most of the present
knowledge and the ensuing code provisions were
available. It is thus necessary to assess reliably
and economically the actual condition and capacity
of these structures as built much as it is necessary,
after a strong earthquake, to determine the
condition of buildings which are standing but
which may have suffered some degree of damage.
More importantly, and independently of the
earthquake problem, the realization that our civil
infrastructure is aging, and in some cases badly
deteriorating, has pointed out the need to assess the
condition of highway pavements, bridges,

Tamkang Journal of Science and Engineering, vol.1, No. 2 (1998)

pipelines, industrial plants, buildings and their


foundations, and to do so in an efficient way.
A number of different nondestructive testing
techniques have been developed over the last years
in response to these needs. Their development is
often the result of a great deal of intuition and
imagination and relies on relatively simple
physical principles. When the behavior of the
problem is controlled by a small number of
variables, the methods work well and the
interpretation of the data tends to be
straightforward. There are cases, however, where
the situation is more complicated and a larger
number of variables affect the results. The
methods may then provide erroneous, or at least
unreliable, predictions unless more accurate
analytical models are used in the processing of the
data. It is thus necessary to conduct research to
define the range of applicability of each method,
the conditions under which simple, fast, and
economical procedures can be used to backfigure
the desired system properties, and the cases where
more elaborate solutions are required.
The discussion in this paper will concentrate
on nondestructive testing techniques based on the
propagation of stress waves due to the application
of dynamic loads. The loads may be of a transient
nature (short duration impulses) or a steady state
harmonic excitation. The quantities of interest
may be the amplitudes of the displacements,
velocities, or accelerations, at various points and
their variation with time or frequency (spectral
analysis), first times of arrival of the waves at a
point, interarrival times between two or more
receivers, or the phase differences between the
motions recorded at two points as a function of
frequency. The models used to simulate these tests,
to find the relation between the system properties
and the recorded quantities, and to evaluate the
inversion procedures, are basically the same ones
developed in the 60s and 70s for the study of soil
amplification and soil structure interaction
problems, but the accuracy requirements tend to be
much stricter and there is a stronger need for a
solid understanding of the basic physical
phenomena involved and for the availability of
rigorous benchmark solutions.
Two specific applications will be considered:
the determination of the elastic moduli of
pavement systems, and the in situ determination of
soil properties and their variation with depth.
1.1 Nondestructive Testing of Pavements
Dynamic nondestructive testing techniques
have been extensively used for years to evaluate
the structural capacity and integrity of highway

62

and airfield pavements. These techniques can be


grouped into two general categories: 1. deflection
basin tests and 2. wave propagation tests.
Deflection basin tests are those in which the
deflections are recorded along the surface of a
pavement subjected to a steady state harmonic load
or a transient dynamic impact. Typical of this
group are the Dynaflect and Road Rater tests
(steady state loads) and the Falling Weight
Deflectometer test (impact load). The second group,
wave propagation tests, is constituted by the
nondestructive techniques originally developed to
determine soil properties in situ, which can be
equally applied to pavements. Characteristic of
these methods is the Spectral Analysis of Surface
Waves (SASW) procedure which will be discussed
in the next section. Figure 1 shows schematically
the typical configuration for any test. The number
of receivers and the position and characteristics of

the applied loads will vary depending on the


specific method.
Among the deflection basin tests, the Falling
Weight Deflectometer (FWD) has seen the most
widespread use, in large part because of its ability
to impose dynamic loads similar to those induced
by truck traffic. The FWD (Fig. 2) consists of a
drop weight mounted on a vertical shaft and
housed in a trailer that can be towed by most
conventional vehicles.
The drop weight is
hydraulically lifted to predetermined heights
ranging from 5 to 50 cm (2 to 20 inches). The
weight is dropped on a 30 cm (11.8 inches)
diameter loading plate resting on a 5.6 mm (0.22
inches) thick rubber pad. The resulting load is a
force impulse with a duration of approximately 30
msec and a peak magnitude ranging from about

Jose M. Roesset: Nondestructive Dynamic Testing of Soils and Pavements

9,000 to 90,000N (2,000 to 20,000 lbs.) depending


on the drop weight, the drop height and the
pavement stiffness. The force and deflection
records at various points along the surface are
measured by a load cell and a set of vertical
velocity transducers. These transducers are placed
typically under the load and at distances of 30 cm
(1 ft). There are often 7 receivers, the last one at
1.8 m (6 ft) from the load. The actual number and
position of the receivers depends, however, on the
model or brand (manufacturer) of the device, as
does the variation of the applied load with time.
The diagram shown in Fig. 2 is a typical load
history. When trying to conduct dynamic analyses
to backfigure the elastic moduli of the pavement
layers from measured data, it is necessary to know
and use the actual time histories of the applied load
and the measured displacements. For parametric
studies of a more generic nature, intended to
determine the characteristics, potential and
limitations of the procedure (as described later in
this paper) it is customary to use simplified load
histories corresponding to a half sine or a
triangular pulse with typical durations of 30 to 32
msec.
Although most makes of falling weight
deflectometers can record the time histories of the
vertical displacements (or actually velocities) at the
different stations, at least for some duration, often
only the peak values are maintained and used to
backfigure the elastic moduli of the layers. The
peak values are used to define a deflection basin
which is often assumed to be caused by a static
load, although these values do not occur in fact at
the same time (there is a small time lag between
the peaks at the various receivers). These static
analyses neglect dynamic (inertia) effects entirely,

63

which can be important in some cases. Moreover,


it is often assumed that the subgrade is an elastic
half-space extending to infinity, neglecting the
possibility of having much stiffer rock at some
finite depth. The implications of these simplifying
assumptions will be further discussed and
illustrated later, performing more accurate and
realistic dynamic analyses to simulate the actual
test conditions.
1.2 In Situ Determination of Soil Properties
The downhole and crosshole methods have
been extensively used to determine soil properties
in the field from the times of first arrival or the
interarrival times of body waves. While these
methods, and particularly the crosshole technique,
are considered highly reliable, they are expensive
and time consuming, requiring the drilling of
boreholes. An efficient and more economical
alternative is provided by the analysis of surface
waves. In the original form of this method, known
as the steady Rayleigh wave technique, a vibrator
acting vertically on the surface of the soil produced
a harmonic excitation. A vertically oriented sensor
was moved away from the source until the
recorded motion was in phase with the excitation.
The distance between any two of these successive
positions, or between the source and the first one,
was assumed to correspond to one wavelength of a
Rayleigh wave. By repeating the process for
different excitation frequencies, a plot of
propagation velocity (product of the frequency by
the wavelength) versus frequency (or wavelength)
could be obtained. Such a plot is known as a
dispersion curve. To estimate the soil properties
from the experimental dispersion curve it was
finally assumed that the measured propagation
velocity from one test corresponded to the shear
wave velocity of the material located at a depth of
half a wavelength. This last step was later
modified to account for the relationship between
the shear wave velocity and the Rayleigh wave
velocity for an elastic half-space and to consider
that the velocity corresponded to the properties of
the material at a depth of one third of the
wavelength.
In the new form of the method, known as the
Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves (SASW)
technique, an impulsive load is applied on the
surface of the soil deposit. A variety of sources
can be used to generate the impact, from hand held
hammers of different sizes (small hammers are
sufficient for high frequency excitation) to drop
weights (heavier weights for low frequencies).
The passage of the wave train generated by the

Tamkang Journal of Science and Engineering, vol.1, No. 2 (1998)

impact is monitored by two vertical receivers. In


the typical arrangement the distance between
receivers is equal to the distance from the source to
the first receiver (Fig. 3). The electrical signals
recorded by the receivers are digitized and
transformed to the frequency domain by a dynamic
spectral analyzer using a Fast Fourier Transform
algorithm.
The analyzer also automatically
provides the cross spectrum from which the phase
difference between the two signals can be obtained
as a function of frequency. The interarrival time
and the phase velocity can then be easily computed.
For a given arrangement of source and receivers,
the test thus provides the dispersion curve over a
certain range of frequencies.
The complete
dispersion curve is obtained by repeating the
process for different distances.

The determination of the soil properties and


their variation with depth from the experimental
dispersion curve is based on the concept that for
very high frequencies (very short wavelengths) the
apparent velocity of propagation (phase velocity)
will be the Rayleigh wave velocity of the material
very near the surface. As the wavelength increases
(the frequency decreasing) the phase velocity will
be affected by the properties of the materials over a
depth of one wavelength or so. One can thus try to
first compute the properties of the top surficial
layer to match the velocity obtained for the highest
frequency, then proceed down the profile, finding
the properties of the underlying layers to match the

64

data for smaller frequencies. Using this procedure,


or the one proposed earlier for the steady state
Rayleigh wave technique, one can obtain a first
estimate of the soil properties. Starting with this
assumed soil profile a direct analysis is performed
to theoretically predict the dispersion curve. One
can then compare the analytical dispersion curve to
the experimental one, modify the soil properties,
based on experience or on an automated least
squares minimization algorithm with a gradient
search, and repeat the process until a satisfactory
agreement is reached. There are two main ways in
which the direct analyses can be performed:
considering only plane generalized Rayleigh waves
(a two-dimensional solution) or accounting for all
types of waves involved in a full three-dimensional
solution modeling the actual experimental setup.
The first method provides a simple and expedient
basis to understand the results of the tests, while
the second simulates the physical process more
realistically.
In the first method, the dynamic stiffness
matrices of each layer, function of the wave
number and the frequency, are formed and
assembled to obtain the dynamic stiffness matrix
of the complete profile. A determinant search
technique is then used to compute the values of the
wavenumber that make the determinant zero. For a
soil profile with properties increasing with depth
there will always be at least a real eigenvalue
(wavenumber). In most cases, there will be more
than one. A question arises then as to which one
of these eigenvalues, if any, corresponds to the
wave propagation velocity that would be measured
in the field. When the soil properties increase
smoothly with depth, the first eigenvalue (smallest
wavenumber) is the one of interest. When soil
properties vary in a more complex way, however,
this may not be always the case and one may find
that the measured propagation velocities are in
better agreement with the phase velocities of the
second, third, or fourth eigenvalue. When the
modulus of the underlying half-space or layer is
smaller than those of the upper layers (typical
situation for a pavement profile) there is a
maximum frequency above which there are no real
wavenumbers making the determinant zero. A
proper solution in this case would require the
determination of the complex eigenvalues leading
also to complex phase velocities.
Simpler
alternatives often used are to assume that the halfspace is made of air (plate theory) or to select real
values of the wavenumber that will make 0 the real
part of the determinant. Both of them are
approximations. The second, more sophisticated
procedure, is to solve the actual problem of a

Jose M. Roesset: Nondestructive Dynamic Testing of Soils and Pavements

vertical disk load applied on the surface of a


layered half-space.

65

To understand how a pavement system or a


soil deposit respond to dynamic loads applied to
the surface, it is helpful to review theoretical
studies dealing with the dynamic response of
uniform and layered systems.

in integral form (Foinquinos 1995). The integrals


are well-behaved and their numerical evaluation
presents no numerical difficulties.
Figure 4 shows the amplitude of the vertical
surface displacements for an elastic half-space
subjected to a harmonic point load as a function of
r and of a dimensionless distance obtained by
dividing the actual distance r by the wavelength
with
= 2 Vs = Vs f .

2.1 Dynamic Loads on an Elastic Half Space

the displacements plotted are w r .

2 Theoretical Formulation

Lamb (1904) was the first one to study the


effect of a pulse on a uniform elastic half-space.
Lamb treated four basic problems: surface line and
point load sources, and buried line and point load
sources.
He derived his solution for these
problems through Fourier synthesis of the steadystate propagation solution. For the surface source
problem,
Lamb
evaluated
the
surface
displacements (horizontal and vertical), and
pointed out that the largest disturbance in the far
field is the Rayleigh surface wave. He noted the
nondispersive nature of the solution, and for pointload excitation, that it decays as r where r is
the distance from the source. Through the years
these problems have taken on the name, Lambs
problem.
The first closed-form solution for Lambs
problem in three-dimensional space was provided
by Pekeris (1955) for the particular case of a
material with Poissons ratio of 0.25.
A
generalization for arbitrary values of Poissons
ratio is due to Mooney (1974) and can also be
found in Erigen and Suhubi (1975); however, the
Greens functions (in the time domain) for this
case are available only for a vertical point pulse
with a step time-function acting on the free-surface.
The correct solution for a harmonic vertical
point load of the form Pexp (it ) was obtained by
Rucker (1982) for a Poissons ratio of 0.25. This
solution was extended by Foinquinos (1995) to any
value of Poissons ratio using Mooneys approach.
The solution can then be written as

w(r ) =
where r =

r
Vs

Pexp (it )
w(r )
Gr

is a dimensionless frequency, r is

the horizontal distance to the point load, the


circular frequency of the excitation and Vs the
shear wave velocity of the material, equal to the
square root of the shear modulus G divided by the
mass density. The function w r can be expressed

()

()

For small values of the dimensionless


frequency (less than 2) or of the dimensionless

distance (less than 0.4) the plot is a horizontal line.


This implies that the displacement is inversely
proportional to the distance r (the product of the
displacement by the distance is constant). This is
referred to as the near field. For larger values of
the dimensionless frequency or distance, the
displacement increases almost linearly, in
logarithmic scale, with a slope of 0.5. This
indicates a variation of the displacement inversely
proportional to the square root of the distance r
(the product of the displacement by r is directly
proportional to the square root of r ). It should be
noticed, however, that the actual solution oscillates

Tamkang Journal of Science and Engineering, vol.1, No. 2 (1998)

slightly around the straight line representing the


approximate far field or Rayleigh solutions.
The results in Fig. 4 correspond to a
Poissons ratio of 0.25.
Fig. 5 shows the
corresponding results versus dimensionless
frequency for different values of Poissons ratio. It
can be seen that as the ratio increases so do the
oscillations around the far field approximate
solution (or the pure Rayleigh wave assumption).
The normal assumption of a variation of the
displacement amplitude inversely proportional to
the square root of the distance then becomes less
and less accurate.
Fig. 6 shows the variation of the phase

66

velocities, computed at one point, as a function of


the dimensionless distance. For a null Poissons
ratio, the phase velocity is essentially that of the
theoretical Rayleigh wave for distances larger than
2. For a Poissons ratio of 0.25 this assumption is
still reasonable but less accurate due to some clear
oscillations. The amplitude of these oscillations
increases significantly with increasing Poissons
ratio. In this case, the actual phase velocity will
depend on the position of the receiver, and can no
longer be assumed to be the Rayleigh wave
velocity, independent of distance. This point is
further illustrated in Fig. 7, where phase velocities
obtained from the phase differences at two
receivers (placed at various distances to the source)
are plotted vs. Poissons ratio and compared to the
Rayleigh wave velocity. The agreement with this
velocity is very good for receiver spacings of 2 and
4 wavelengths from the source. Fig. 8 shows
finally the partition of power between body waves
( P and S waves) and surface waves (Rayleigh
waves) as a function of Poissons ratio. For a null
Poissons ratio, the Rayleigh wave has nearly 76%
of the total power but it has only about 55% for a
Poissons ratio of 0.5.

Jose M. Roesset: Nondestructive Dynamic Testing of Soils and Pavements

67

found explicit expressions for the displacements at


points at large distances from the loaded area.
These expressions for the horizontal and vertical (u,
w) displacements at the surface of the medium due
to a unit disk load are of the form:

a2
f (v)
G

e Cr , where a is the radius of the


Crr
disk load, G is the shear modulus of the medium,
is the circular frequency of the excitation, Cr is
the Rayleigh wave velocity of the medium and r
is the distance to the source. The term f (v) is a
function of Poissons ratio. For instance, for v
equal to 1/3, f (v) equals 0.182 2 2 + i 2 2

for

the

horizontal

0.286( 2 2 i 2 2 )

Miller and Pursey (1954) considered the

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

Tamkang Journal of Science and Engineering, vol.1, No. 2 (1998)

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

2.2 Dynamic Loads on Layered Media

0
J1 (kr )
u
Udk
V = = 0k
J0 (kr )
w
0

Jose M. Roesset: Nondestructive Dynamic Testing of Soils and Pavements

where k is the wavenumber, r is the radial


distance to the center of the loaded area and J0 , J1
are the Bessel functions of zero and first order
respectively. U is the vector of displacements in
the wave number domain.
At the surface where the excitation is applied,
the load vector can be expressed in the spatial
domain as

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

Performing the integration, the only nonzero term


of the vector P is the second term which is equal
to qaJ1 (kr) k .
The displacements U and forces P in the
wavenumber domain are then related by

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

u = qa u1 J1 (ka)J1 (kr )dk


0

w = qa w1 J1 (ka) J1 (kr )dk


0

The solution of the problem thus requires


assembling the dynamic stiffness matrix K of the
layered medium, solving the system of equations
for many different values of k and evaluating
numerically the integrals above. The numerical
integration is performed through shifting the poles
of the integrand by including a small attenuation in
the materials (for materials with damping, all the
poles are complex, so that no singularities are
encountered along the real axis of integration).
However, for a system with sharp variation in

69

material properties between layers, the integrands


may exhibit considerable waviness, making it
difficult to evaluate the integrals. The solution of
the equations is time-consuming when there is a
large number of layers.
The procedure is
convenient when dealing with a homogeneous
half-space or a small number of layers.
An alternative can be obtained by expanding
the terms of the dynamic stiffness matrix of a layer
in terms of k and keeping terms only up to
second-degree (the terms of the transfer or stiffness
matrices of each layer are transcendental functions).
It can be shown that this is equivalent to assuming
that the displacements have a linear variation with
depth over each layer using standard finite element
techniques to derive the layer matrix. The stiffness
matrices of each layer, the half-space, and the total
profile can then be expressed in the form

K = Ak + Bk + G M
2

where the expressions for the matrices A , B , G ,


and M can be found in Kausel and Roesset (1981).
By computing the in-plane modes of propagation
as the solution of a quadratic eigenvalue problem
and keeping only the modes propagating outwards,
Kausel (1981) has shown that the displacements u ,
w can be expressed as

u=

2n+ 2

u w k (k
i

i =1

w=

2n +2

w (k
2

i=1

k
ki2 )

1
ki2 )

for a system with n layers, where ui and wi


denote the horizontal and vertical displacements at
the surface in the i th mode and ki is the
eigenvalue or wave number in the i th mode. By
substituting these expressions, the integrals can
then be evaluated analytically in closed form.
This formulation requires a subdivision of
the layers (thin layers are needed to accurately
reproduce the variation of displacements with
depth with a piece-wise linear approximation). It
is particularly convenient when dealing with a
large number of layers as is the case when it is
desired to obtain a detailed variation of soil
properties with depth. Furthermore, since the
fundamental solutions (or Greens functions) are
known explicitly, one can determine the
displacements or strains at many locations without
significant additional computational effort.
Both formulations (continuous and discrete)
had been implemented at the University of Texas
at Austin (Roesset and Shao, 1985) (Roesset,

Tamkang Journal of Science and Engineering, vol.1, No. 2 (1998)

Stokoe and Foinquinos, 1993) to simulate the


FWD and SASW tests. Although a large number
of sublayers must be used in the discrete
formulation in order to obtain satisfactory results,
this formulation has been found in general to be
much more efficient computationally than the
continuous formulation. The results presented in
this paper were obtained using the discrete
formulation.
A case of some interest is that of a
homogeneous layer of finite thickness resting on
much stiffer, rock-like material, which can be
assumed to be infinitely rigid. Fig. 11 shows the
transfer functions for the vertical displacements
(amplitude of the displacements as a function of
frequency) for the case of a half-space and a finite
layer over rigid base. The excitation is uniformly
distributed over an area of the typical size of the
FWD pad. Results are shown both for the
displacement at the center of the loaded area and at
a 6 ft. distance. It can be seen that for a half-space,
the displacement amplitude under the load is
nearly independent of frequency over a range of
frequencies, then decays monotonically with
increasing frequency. At 6 ft. the displacement
increases smoothly over a range of frequencies,
then decreases monotonically. For the finite layer,
the displacement is still essentially constant for
small frequencies, with a value smaller than that of
the half-space (notice that this is the value of the
static displacement, corresponding to a zero
frequency).
The displacement next shows a
pronounced peak at a frequency corresponding to
resonance of the layer (the peak becomes relatively
more pronounced at increasing distances).
Afterwards, the results are similar to those of the
half-space but exhibit a number of oscillations.
Fig. 12 shows the phase spectrum (variation
of the phase angle with frequency) at the same two
points and for the same conditions. It can be seen
that for a half-space the phase spectrum is a
straight line starting at a value of 0.04 because a
damping ratio of 2% was assumed for the material.
For the finite layer the phase spectrum is initially
horizontal (phase angle independent of frequency).
It shows then a sudden jump at the resonant
frequency of the layer (the same frequency at
which the amplitude exhibited a peak). For
increasing frequencies it oscillates slightly around
the half-space solution. This indicates that below
the resonant or threshold frequency of the layer
there is no radiation of waves in the horizontal
direction and thus no loss of energy beyond the
internal losses due to material damping. It has
sometimes been stated that the threshold frequency
is the natural frequency of the layer under vertical
excitation. This frequency would be

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).

Fig. 14 shows finally the variation with time


of the displacements that would be recorded at the
two points for the same cases. The excitation is
assumed to be a half sine squared pulse. Under the
load, the displacement is essentially a similar pulse.
It can be seen, however, that the solution for the

Jose M. Roesset: Nondestructive Dynamic Testing of Soils and Pavements

finite layer has some oscillations following the


pulse. These oscillations become much more clear
with increasing distance (the shape of the pulse
also changes, showing first the arrival of body
waves, then the surface wave).

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

profiles are given in Fig. 15.


Fig. 16 shows the transfer functions of the

71

vertical displacement at the center of the loaded


area (receiver 1) for different thicknesses of the
subgrade. As pointed out earlier, these curves
represent the amplitude of the harmonic
displacements due to a harmonic uniformly
distributed circular load as a function of frequency.
As the thickness of the subgrade decreases the
amplitude of the peak and the frequency of the
peak (the threshold frequency) increase. In the low
frequency range where the displacement is
essentially independent of frequency with its static
value, the displacement amplitude decreases
somewhat with decreasing layer thickness. In the
high frequency range, the results are independent
(or nearly independent) of subgrade thickness.
Fig. 17 shows the corresponding results for a
receiver situated at 6 ft. from the center of the load
(the position often of the 7th and last receiver).
The same observations can be made, but the effects
(relative amplitude of the peak at the threshold
frequency, relative reduction in amplitude of the
static, or low frequency, displacements with
decreasing subgrade thickness) are much more
pronounced.
Multiplying the complex transfer function
(including the amplitude shown in the two figures
as well as the phases) by the Fourier transform of
the applied load, one would obtain the Fourier
transform of the displacement at the selected
receiver. The time history of the displacement is
then obtained, applying the inverse Fourier
transform. Fig. 18 shows the displacement records
at all 7 receivers for the case of an infinite
subgrade and a 20 ft. thick subgrade resting on
rigid rock. It can be seen again that in the first
case the motion consists only of one pulse with the
same shape as the load. In the second case, on the
other hand, the pulse is followed by free vibration
oscillations with the natural period of the subgrade.
It should be noticed that the free vibrations are

Tamkang Journal of Science and Engineering, vol.1, No. 2 (1998)

essentially the same for all the receivers, although


on a relative basis their importance is larger for the
farthest receivers, where the amplitude of the main
pulse is smallest. It can also be seen that in both
cases, there is a clear phase lag between the arrival
of the pulse at the various receivers. This phase
lag can be easily detected looking at the peak of
the pulse. From the phase lag one can determine
the properties of the subgrade.
Fig. 19 shows the displacement basins
caused by the applied load for the different
thicknesses of the subgrade. The bottom figure
shows the results from a full dynamic analysis,
whereas the top figure illustrates what the results
would have been if the load had been applied
statically. In the actual dynamic case as illustrated
by Figure 18 previously, the peak displacements
do not occur at the same time at all receivers. Yet
it is common practice in the interpretation of the
FWD tests to plot the maximum displacements as
if they occurred simultaneously and use only this
information. It is also commonly assumed that the
displacements are static, using a static analysis
program to backfigure the layer properties. Figure
19 shows that the static displacements depend on
the thickness of the subgrade whereas the dynamic
ones are nearly independent of this thickness for
this pavement system. It is also common to
assume in the interpretation of the data that the
subgrade extends to infinity. This assumption
would be reasonable if the inversion was carried
out using dynamic analyses but it can lead to
serious errors if static analyses are performed. To
further illustrate this point, Fig. 20 shows the ratio
of the dynamic displacements to the static ones
using the same, actual profile for both analyses. It
can be seen that in this case the dynamic
displacements are larger than the static ones for
relatively small thicknesses of the subgrade (depth
to bedrock) varying from less than 15 to less that
40 ft. depending on the station (distance of the
receiver to the load), whereas they are smaller for
larger thicknesses. This implies that performing
static analyses for the inversion but using the
correct depth to bedrock would predict values of
the elastic moduli smaller than the real ones for
shallow depths to bedrock and would on the other
hand overpredict the stiffnesses for thicker
subgrades. Fig. 21 shows the corresponding
results if the static analyses are performed
assuming that the subgrade extends to infinity,
while the dynamic analysis is performed for the
actual profile. This indicates that if the assumption
of an infinite subgrade is made and static analyses
are performed, one will always overestimate the
moduli, since the computed static displacements
will always be larger than the true dynamic ones.

72

Figures 22 and 23 show the corresponding


results for the rigid pavement. It should be noticed
that in this case the deflection basins are almost
straight lines and that the effect of the thickness of
the subgrade on the static displacements is even
larger. For the dynamic displacements, only a
subgrade thickness of 10 ft. or less would result in
any noticeable difference. It is also interesting to
notice that for both pavements the difference
between the static displacements at the various
receivers for the various subgrade thicknesses is
essentially constant. For the rigid pavement the
use of static analyses assuming an infinite depth to
bedrock for the inversion would result in even
more severe overestimations of the elastic moduli.
Fig. 24 shows the sensitivity of the (dynamic)
displacement basins to the properties of the layers
for the flexible pavement. It can be seen that a
variation in the modulus of the top layer by 50%
produces only a noticeable difference in the
amplitude of the displacements at the center of the
loaded area. There is no variation for distances
larger than 2 ft. A similar variation in the elastic
modulus of the base (2nd layer) will affect the
displacements in the first three receivers (under the
load) at 1 ft. and at 2 ft. A variation of 50% in
the properties of the subgrade significantly affects,
however, the displacements at all receivers. This
implies that the FWD test is particularly wellsuited to determine the elastic properties of the
subgrade (if an appropriate dynamic inversion is
performed) but that it is much more difficult to
estimate accurately the properties of the base and
even worse those of the surface layer.

Jose M. Roesset: Nondestructive Dynamic Testing of Soils and Pavements

73

Tamkang Journal of Science and Engineering, vol.1, No. 2 (1998)

The determination of the elastic properties


(Youngs modulus) of the various layers is
normally performed in a iterative way, assuming a
set of properties, applying a direct analysis to
compute a theoretical displacement basin,
comparing it to the experimental data, changing the
assumed properties and iterating until a satisfactory
match is obtained. As stated earlier, it is common
to use a static analysis program to calculate the
theoretical basins and to assume that the subgrade
extends to infinity. This is an approximation that
can lead to serious errors in some cases. Much
better estimations could be performed if one
considered the complete time histories of the
recorded displacements, rather than only the peaks,
and if dynamic analyses were conducted in each
cycle of iteration. Chang et al (1992), and Seng
(1992), suggested a procedure to estimate the depth
to bedrock and the elastic modulus of the subgrade
in order to obtain first estimates to initiate the
iterative procedure. Foinquinos (1995) suggested a
pseudo-dynamic inversion procedure more
economical than the full dynamic inversion and
almost as accurate based on the elimination of the
dynamic effects from the measured displacement
basin to obtain the static displacements. This
requires, however, a set of displacement records
with adequate duration (of the order of 180 msec
or more), which is more than what is normally
recorded and stored.
Two of the main assumptions in the dynamic
modeling of the pavement system were that the
layers extend to infinity in both horizontal
directions and that they are linear elastic. An
accurate solution requires the consideration of the
finite width of the pavement and possibly
nonlinear behavior. Kang et al (1990) studied the
effect of the finite width on the dynamic
deflections of pavements, and concluded that the
loading position with respect to the edge of the
pavement can influence the amplitude of the
deflections and the shape of the deflection basin
obtained with the FWD test. They found, however,
that for most pavements, the error committed by
assuming that the pavement extends to infinity will
not be serious if the load is placed more than 2 ft.
(0.6m) from the edge of pavements at level sites or
4 ft. (1.2m) from the edge when the pavement is on
an embankment or a ramp with concrete retaining
walls.
Chang et al (1992) studied nonlinear effects
in FWD testing using an approximate nonlinear
analysis procedure (a linear iterative approach in
the frequency domain) and a true nonlinear
incremental analysis with a generalized cap model
to reproduce the nonlinear material behavior. They
showed that nonlinear behavior can be significant

74

and localized around the loaded area if testing is


performed on a flexible pavement with a rather
thin surface layer and a soft subgrade. However,
they also showed that nonlinear effects can be
neglected for small to intermediate loads for many
pavement systems and that very little nonlinearity
will normally be generated in thick rigid
pavements.

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

Jose M. Roesset: Nondestructive Dynamic Testing of Soils and Pavements

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

75

expected to be reliable. The results from the


various tests (for different receiver spacings) are
finally combined to produce a curve giving the
variation of phase velocity (assumed to be the
Rayleigh wave velocity) versus frequency, or
versus wavelength, as illustrated in Fig. 29. This is
known as a dispersion curve. Because the ranges
of the results for different spacings overlap there
will be some scatter in the curve. A smooth or
average curve is often drawn fitting the
experimental data (Fig. 30).
To backfigure the soil or pavement properties
and their variation with depth, one must start with
an assumed profile. This initial profile can
sometimes be obtained from relatively simple
procedures (assuming for instance that the phase
velocity at a given wavelength corresponds to the
Rayleigh wave velocity of the material at a depth
equal to one third of the wavelength). Direct
analyses are then performed to obtain the
theoretical dispersion curve corresponding to the
assumed profile. The theoretical curve is
compared to the experimental one and the
properties of the layers are changed, starting an
iterative procedure. The iterations are terminated
when the agreement between the theoretical and
experimental results is deemed to be satisfactory.

Tamkang Journal of Science and Engineering, vol.1, No. 2 (1998)

76

various iterations for an actual soil deposit and Fig.


32 shows the final experimental and theoretical
dispersion curves and the resulting profile. The
soil properties obtained from the SASW test are
compared to those obtained from crosshole
measurements at the site.

If the soil were a homogeneous half-space,


the dispersion curve would be expected to be a
horizontal line as illustrated in Fig. 33. It should
be remembered, however, that this will only be so

if the receivers are at a sufficient distance from the


source. When dealing with a layer of finite
thickness resting on a softer half-space (typical
situation of a pavement), the dispersion curve
would start with the value of the Rayleigh wave
velocity of the top, stiffer layer and then decrease
monotonically, approaching the value of the
Rayleigh wave velocity of the half-space. On the
other hand, when dealing with a soft layer over a
stiffer half-space (more typical soil profile), the
dispersion curve would be initially horizontal then

Jose M. Roesset: Nondestructive Dynamic Testing of Soils and Pavements

increase gradually towards a second horizontal


plateau.

77

receiver spacings in terms of the wavelengths


(notice that the first situation agrees more closely
with what would be done in practice).
Fig. 36 shows the effect of the thickness of
the subgrade on the dispersion curves. It can be
seen that the first part of the curve is independent
of the subgrade thickness. It provides the Rayleigh
wave velocity of the pavement layer very clearly,
and the thickness of the layer can also be estimated.
The thickness of the subgrade affects the
wavelength at which the dispersion curve starts to
increase again if there is a much stiffer rock
underneath.
Fig. 37 shows the sensitivity of the
dispersion curves to the material properties of the
pavement layer, the base and the subgrade.
Variations in the properties of the pavement layer
(to which the FWD displacement basins were very
insensitive) can be very clearly recognized with the
SASW method. The variations in the properties of
the subgrade are also clearly identifiable. On the
other hand, the variations in the properties of the
base may be harder to estimate accurately.
In the simplest possible form, the

Fig. 34 shows the theoretical dispersion


curves for the flexible pavement that had been
studied earlier, combining the results for different
receiver spacings. It can be seen that there is
scatter in the results as there would be in the field.
Fig. 35 shows the corresponding results for

determination of the material properties (inversion


of the data) is carried out assuming for the direct
analyses (for each assumed profile) that one has
only a single Rayleigh wave propagating

Tamkang Journal of Science and Engineering, vol.1, No. 2 (1998)

78

horizontally. To compute the phase velocity of


this wave, one must find the eigenvalue of the
dynamic stiffness matrix of the soil profile. It is
common to assume that the main contributor to the
results is the first Rayleigh mode (smallest
eigenvalue). This is often referred to as a 2D
solution. It works reasonably well when dealing
with soil profiles where the properties vary
smoothly, increasing steadily with depth. When a
stiff layer is underlain by a more flexible one, the
situation becomes more complicated and the
eigenvalues may no longer be real. It is hard to
determine then which is the one corresponding to
the first mode. Moreover, the first mode may not
be the predominant one. A more laborious but also
more accurate technique is to solve the actual 3D
problem computing the displacements due to the
dynamic loads following the formulation described
earlier and simulating the actual test procedure.
Figs. 38 and 39 illustrate the solution for two
actual soil profiles where the soil properties do not
vary smoothly. The top figure in each case shows
the initial assumed profile (using the one-third of
the wavelength rule) and the final soil profile after
iterations using the complete 3D solution. The
second figure shows the experimental dispersion
curve and the theoretical curves predicted using the
approximate 2D (single Rayleigh mode) and the
more accurate 3D solutions for the initial profile.
It can be seen that the 2D solution seems to
provide a better match for this profile. The bottom
figure shows the corresponding dispersion curves
for the final soil profile. In this case the 3D
solution gives a much better fit.

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

Jose M. Roesset: Nondestructive Dynamic Testing of Soils and Pavements

to bedrock static analyses may underestimate or


overestimate the moduli depending on the
thickness of the subgrade.
Similarly, the
interpretation of SASW data assuming a single
Rayleigh wave mode will yield sensible results
only when dealing with soil deposits where the
stiffness increases smoothly with depth. When
there are stiff layers underlain by softer layers, a
complete 3D solution is necessary.
It should also be noted that each method has
advantages and limitations. The FWD can provide
fast and efficient estimates of the properties of the
subgrade, even with some rather simple procedures,
if one is able to record the time histories of the
displacements for a sufficient duration. Results are,
on the other hand, very insensitive to the properties
of the top (pavement) layer, which makes an
accurate determination of these properties very
difficult. The SASW can provide very simply, on
the other hand, accurate values of the modulus of
the top layer as well as its thickness, but may have
difficulties estimating with the same degree of
accuracy the properties of the base in the case of a
pavement system or recognizing soil layers which
are thin relatively to the depth at which they are
encountered. Other methods such as the impulse
response (or impact-echo) method used to detect
cavities in concrete elements or for integrity testing
of piles, can also provide very easily an estimate of
either the modulus of the pavement layer (if its
thickness is known) or of its thickness (if the
modulus is known). It would appear that a
combination of various of these techniques could
have great advantages and provide a more reliable

79

and complete picture of the pavement or soil


profile.
Bibliography
1.

Chang, D.W., Kang, V.Y., Roesset, J.M., and


Stokoe, K.H., II, Effect of Depth to Bedrock
on Deflection Basins obtained with Dynaflect
and FWD Tests, Transportation Research
Record 1355, pp. 8-16, 1992.

2.

Chang, D.W., Roesset, J.M., and Stokoe, K.H.,


II, Nonlinear Effects in Falling Weight
Deflectometer Tests, Transportation Research
Record 1355, pp. 1-7, 1992.

3.

Eringen,
A.C.,
and
Suhubi,
S.,
Elastodynamics, Vol. 2, Academic Press,
New York, NY, 1975.

4.

Foinquinos, R., Roesset, J.M., and Stokoe,


K.H., II, Dynamic Interpretation of FWD
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IRF, Madrid, Spain, 1993.

5.

Foinquinos, R., Dynamic Nondestructive


Testing of Pavements, Report GR 95-4, Civil
Engineering Department, The University of
Texas at Austin, 1995.

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Kang, V.K., Roesset, J.M., and Stokoe, K.H.,


II, Effect of the Finite Width of Pavements
on Deflection Basins obtained with Dynaflect
and FWD Tests, Transportation Research
Board, pp. 1-26, 1990.

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Kausel, E., and Roesset, J.M., Stiffness


Matrices for Layered Soils, Bulletin of the
Seismological Society of America, Vol. 71,
No. 6, 1981.

8.

Kausel, E., An Explicit Solution for the


Green Functions for Dynamic Loads in
Layered Media, Research Report R81-13,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA, 1981.

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Lamb, H., On the Propagation of Tremors


over the Surface of an Elastic Solid, Phil.
Transactions Royal Society of London, Series
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10. Miller, G.F., and Pursey, H., The Field and


Radiation Impedance of Mechanical Radiators
on the Free Surface of a Semi Infinte Isotropic
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A223, 1954.
11. Mooney, H.M., Some Numerical Solutions
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Seismological Society of America, Vol. 64,
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12. Pekeris, C., The Seismic Surface Pulse,


Proceedings, National Academy of Science,
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Deflectometer Tests, Transportation Research
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the Accuracy of Backcalculated Moduli
obtained with Dynaflect and FWD Tests,
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Austin, 1992.

Manuscript Received: Oct. 15, 1998


Revision Received: Jan. 1, 1999
and Accepted: Jan. 1, 1999

80

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