Solution of Plates on Elastic Layer of Finite Depth by Rigid Bar Method

Analytical formulas to compute the settlement of elastic layer subjected to rectangutar uniform load are presented. The elastic layer has a finite depth and sticks to a rigid stratum. The Finite Element Method is used to find the displacement of plates, and the Rigid Bar Method is used to determine the contact pressure between plates and soil foundations. By virtue of the advantages of FEM and RBM the problems are simplified and the computational efficiency is improved remarkably. The numerical results prove that both half-space and winkler foundation are particular cases of the elastic layer of finite depth.