Deflection assessment of a shell embedded in soil under applied load: a case study

Abstract

Displacement tests under live loads are most commonly used to determine the stiffness of soil-shell structures. However, for design purposes, it is also important to be able to determine the stiffness of a structure on the basis of theoretical models. This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of various methods for determining the deflection influence surface of a shell. Results of tests on real structures were compared with calculations from an elastic half-space model and a simplified 3D numerical model. Both the longitudinal and transverse profiles of the structure were analyzed. Based on the achieved results, it was concluded that Boussinesq’s solution did not account for the structure’s geometry or its different behavior in different directions. In the case of numerical analysis, however, even a simplified model yields results close to the actual ones and may help estimate the stiffness of a structure. The study also analyzes the influence of cover depth and load distribution on deflection profiles. It was found that as the thickness of cover depth increased, the deflection at the crown decreased. These results may prove useful for determining load distribution in complex automotive wheel systems.