A R N O L D D.

KERR Elastic and Viscoelastic Foundation Models

Associate Professor,
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, The present paper contains a critical study of a number of foundation models as well as
New York University,
New York, N. Y.;
a further development of some of the ideas involved. Among others it is shown that the
also Expert to Cold Regions Research Pasternak foundation is a mechanical model for the so-called " generalized" foundation.
and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), It is also demonstrated that the kernel for the Pasternak foundation in plane stress or
U. S. Army plane strain is identical with Wieghardt's exponential kernel, and that for the three-
dimensional case the kernel is a modified Bessel function. It is also shown that the
"nonsolvability" of the problem of a finite beam or plate resting on a continuous founda-
tion as posed by Wiegliardt and further elaborated by Pflanz is not correct, and that
problems of this type are solvable for any load distribution permissible in classical plate
theory. Throughout the paper, emphasis is placed on the proper mathematical formula-
tion of the physical problems in question.

IN RECENT years the development of solid-propellant

rocket motors, the increased use of soft filaments in aerospace
structures, and the building activities in the cold regions intensi-
fied the need for solutions of various problems of beams, plates,
and shells continuously supported by elastic or viscoelastic media.
•7777-77777 77777777 7777
The usual approach in formulating these problems is based on
the inclusion of the foundation reaction into the corresponding Fig. 1
differential equation of the beam, plate, or shell. The foundation
is very often a rather complex medium; e.g., a rubberlike fuel
(0)
binder, snow, or granular soil. But, since of interest here is the
response of the foundation at the contact area and not the stresses
or displacements inside the foundation material, the problem
reduces to finding a relatively simple mathematical expression
which should describe the response of the foundation at the con-
tact area with a reasonable degree of accuracy.
The simplest representation of a continuous elastic foundation
has been provided by Winkler [l] 1 who assumed the base con-
sisting of closely spaced, independent linear springs. Such a
foundation is equivalent to a liquid base. The relation between
(b)
the pressure and the deflection of the foundation surface, both
parallel to the z-axis, is then

p(x, y) = kw(x, y) (1)

where k is the foundation modulus or specific weight of the liquid

base.
The corresponding deformations of the foundation surface, e.g.,
for a uniform load, are shown in Fig. 1. It can be seen that for
Fig. 2
this foundation model, the displacements of the loaded region will
be constant whether the foundation is subjected to a rigid stamp
continuum, it soon became obvious that, for some materials, the
or a uniform load. Additionally, for both types of loading the
foundation subjected to loads behaved differently than predicted
displacements are zero outside the loaded region. It was ob-
by the theory of elastic isotropic solids. It was found, e.g., for
served, however, that for most materials the displacements of the
soil, that the surface displacements away from the loaded region
foundation surface are as shown in Fig. 2.
decreased more rapidly than predicted by the theory [3], It is
As the next step, the foundat ion was considered as a semi-infinite
also questionable if foam rubber-like materials with a relatively
elastic continuum, mathematically a much more difficult problem,
large void ratio will behave like a homogeneous isotropic medium.
for which a number of solutions were available in the literature on
Hence there is a lai'ge class of foundation materials occurring in
the theory of elasticitj' (see e.g. [2]).
practice the behavior of which can neither be represented by a
In addition to the increased mathematical difficulties en- Winkler-type foundation consisting of independent vertical ele-
countered, in particular, in connection with the solution of ments nor by an isotropic continuum.
problems involving composite structures resting on an elastic
In an attempt to find a physically close and mathematically
simple representation for these materials at the contact area, one
1 N u m b e r s in brackets designate References at end of paper.
may proceed in either of two ways; namely, starting with the
C o n t r i b u t e d b y the A p p l i e d M e c h a n i c s Division and presented at
continuum and introducing simplifying assumptions with respect
the S u m m e r C o n f e r e n c e , B o u l d e r , C o l o . , June 9 - 1 1 , 1964, of THE
A M E R I C A N S O C I E T Y OF M E C H A N I C A L E N G I N E E R S .
to expected displacements and/or stresses, or starting with the
Discussion of this paper should be addressed t o the Editorial D e - Winkler foundation and, in order to bring it closer to reality,
partment, A S M E , U n i t e d Engineering Center, 345 East 4 7 t h Street, assuming some kind of interaction between the spring elements.
N e w Y o r k , N . Y . 10017, and will be accepted until O c t o b e r 10, 1964.
In the following text, several recently suggested foundation
Discussion received after the closing d a t e will be returned. Manu-
script received b y A S M E A p p l i e d M e c h a n i c s Division, M a r c h 20, models are discussed briefly. Those obtained by the second ap-
1963; final draft, Sept. 19, 1963. Paper N o . 6 4 — A P M - 4 0 . proach are treated first.

Journal of Applied Mechanics SEPTEMBER 1964 / 4 9 1

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 stretched membrane,
plate in bending,
or shear layer

mriH >r
Fig. 3

x+dx x+dx.

Fig. 4

Because of repeated use of the terms "differential equation" bw

and "boundary condition," for the sake of brevity and easier r„ = Gxyx G
~bx
identification, throughout the paper D E and B C are used instead. (4)
bw
Filonenko-Borodich Foundation [4] r V* = GV Iy V G
by
T o achieve some degree of interaction between the spring ele-
ments, the top ends of the springs are connected to a stretched Noting that the deflections of the contact area are w = w(x, y),
elastic membrane subjected to a constant-tension field T as shown the shear forces per unit length of the shear layer are
in Fig. 3.
The condition of equilibrium in the z-direction, of a membrane bw
Tx,dz = G
element yields the load displacement relation dx
(5)
p = kw - Tyhv (2)
rU!dz = G —
where V 2 is the Laplace operator in a: and y. by
From equation (2) it can be seen that the interaction of the
spring elements is characterized by the intensity of the tension According to Fig. 4 the equilibrium equation is
field T in the membrane. 2
bN* j. ~
-r—h j+. v - q. = o
n (6)
Hetenyi Foundation [ 5 , 6 , 4 ] bx by
The interaction between the independent spring elements is
Substituting equation (5) into equation (6), we obtain, with q, =
accomplished by imbedding in the two-dimensional case an elastic
kw
beam and in the three-dimensional case a plate in the material of
the Winkler foundation in a similar manner to that shown in Fig. p = kw — (7)
3. It is assumed that the beam or plate deforms in bending only.
The relation between load p and deflection w for the three-dimen- The second term on the right-hand side of equation (7) is the
sional case is effect of the shear interactions of the vertical elements. It can be
seen that equation (2) is identical with equation (7) if T is re-
p = kw + Z>V2V2w (3)
placed by G.
Here the interaction of the spring elements is characterized by D
the flexural rigidity of the plate. For derivations and numerical
examples in the two-dimensional case see [5] and [6].
"Generalized" Foundation [8-15]
In this foundation model it is assumed in addition to the
Pasternak Foundation [7] Winkler hypothesis, where at each point the pressure p is propor-
tional to the deflection w, that also the moment is proportional to
Pasternak assumes the existence of shear interactions between
the angle of rotation. Analytically this is described by
the spring elements. This may be accomplished by connecting
the ends of the springs to a beam or plate consisting of incom- p = kio
pressible vertical elements, as shown in Fig. 3, which deforms
only by transverse shear. dw (8)
m„ = ki
For the derivation of the load-deflection relation, we consider dn
the vertical equilibrium of a "shear layer" element cut out bj' the
surfaces x, x + dx, y and y + dy, as shown in Fig. 4. Assuming where n is any direction at a point in the plane of the foundation
that foundation material is homogeneous and isotropic in the surface; k and k, are the corresponding proportionality factors.
x-y plane, hence Gx = G„ = G, then This additional assumption is relatively arbitrary.
In a latter section it will be shown that the Pasternak foundation
2 After the manuscript was submitted, a paper by F. Schiel [31]
model is a possible mechanical model for the generalized founda-
came to the attention of the writer, in which a foundation model
consisting of a heavy liquid with surface tension is suggested. This tion, thus giving the generalized foundation model a physical
model is essentially the same as the Filonenko-Borodich foundation. meaning.

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 Vlasov Foundation
V. Z. Vlasov approached the problem from a "continuum"
point of view. He formulated his problem by means of a varia-
tional method. Imposing certain restrictions upon the possible
deformations of an elastic layer, he obtained for one set of as-
sumptions a load-deflection relation which after redefining of con-
stants is identical with equation (7). For details the reader is
referred to [16] and [17].

Reissner Foundation [18]

E. Reissner goes out from the equations of a continuum. As-
suming that the in-plane stresses throughout the foundation layer
are negligibly small, Fig. 5

<rx = <r„ = TXy = 0 (9)

and that the horizontal displacements at the upper and lower
surfaces of the foundation layer are zero, he obtains for the elastic
case the relation

c,iv — ,-sV2w = p — — V2p (10)

4cl

where iv is the displacement of the foundation surface in the

z-direction, p a distributed lateral load acting on the foundation
surface, and
HG,
ci = I f . c2 = (11)
H '

Ej and Gf are the elastic constants of the foundation material; H

is the thickness of the foundation layer.
It is of note that for a constant or linearly varying pressure p
after redefining of constants, namely, c, = k and c2 = G, equation
(10) is identical with equation (7).
A consequence of assumption (9) is that the shear stresses r „
and T,U are independent of z and thus are constant throughout
Fig. 6
the depth of the foundation for a given surface point (x, y)\
physically a nonrealistic result particularly for relatively thick
foundation layers. However, in view of the fact that foundation P3
w(x) = 2[; e-fr (14)
models are introduced to study the response of the foundation sur-
face to loads and not the stresses caused within the foundation,
this particular deficiency may in general be of no serious conse- Deflections caused by a distributed load p(x) can be obtained
quence. setting P = and integrating over the loaded interval as
shown in Fig. 5. Thus

Some Characteristics of the Pasternak Foundation w(x)

B P+b
(15)
After discussing the various foundation models it may be of in- «/ —a
terest. to mention that J. Ratzersdorfer, following a suggestion by
R. von Mises, obtained for the two-dimensional case an expres- It can be seen that the kernel in equation (15) is identical to the
sion of the type given in (7), by a formal expansion of Wieghardt's one assumed by Ii. Wieghardt [21] who based his choice partly
integral relation for load and deflections [19, 20]. Although his on experimental evidence [3].
formal procedure failed to reveal the physical meaning of the For an arbitrary load distribution on the foundation surface the
second term, it nevertheless indicates that a relation of type (7) is necessary kernel is obtained as solution of the case of a concen-
the next higher approximation of the foundation response. trated load P = 1 acting at the origin of the coordinate system.
This argument, as well as the consideration of the mechanical Here, because of axial symmetry
behavior of model and real medium, suggests that from the con- d 1 d
sidered foundation models the one by Pasternak is the most V2 = 1 (16)
dr r dr
natural extension of the Winkler model for homogeneous founda-
tions, where a second foundation constant, the "shear modulus"
The general solution of equation (7) is now
G, enters the analysis. Since, also, the resulting load-deflection
relationship is relatively simple, it. is being chosen as the founda- w(r) = AKoUlr) + Bh(fir) (17)
tion model for further investigations. In the following, some of
its characteristics will be investigated. where /<o(|Sr) and 70(/3r) are modified Bessel functions. Since w is
For the case of a line load P along the y-axis, equation (7) re- expected to be zero at r —*• °°, we obtain
duces to
w(r) = — Ktfr) (18)
(12)

where The kernel for the three-dimensional foundation is then

/32 = k/G (13)

K{\x - \y - r?|) = (19)
Its solution is, noting that to is expected to be finite as x —>• co

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 plate in
shear
bending
layer.

itiifMi
iiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiimimiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiii
3
77

= G/D, t = k/D

Reaction Distribution For the case of a lateral concentrated force P acting at the
origin of the coordinate system, the problem is axially symmetrical
r and since s > 0 and t > 0, for the case (s 2 — 4/) 0, (i.e., when
shear interactions dominate), the general solution of equat ion (24)
—Ss
iv(r) = GVo^i'/'r) + C2Iu{^hr)
Bending Moment + C'./o(& l/, r) + C J u i ^ ' r ) (27)
Fig. 8 When (s 2 — 4() < 0 (this seems to be the case for the usual
foundation materials), and £> become complex conjugates, and
where the solution can be expressed in terms of the generalized ber, bei,
ker, kei functions as presented by Y. Y. Yu [22] or as done in [9-
R = [ ( x - £)2 + (y - r/)2]'/* (20)
13] and [17]. An equation of the same type also was discussed by
is the distance between P at ( f , r}) and the point under considera- P. M. Naglidi and J. C. Rowley [23].
tion (x, y) as shown in Fig. 6. Thus for an arbitrarily distributed At this point, of special interest are graphs,3 which are partially
load p over an area A the deflection of the foundation surface at a reproduced in Fig. 8, where results are shown for an infinite
point (x, y) is strip subjected to a line load resting (a) on a Pasternak
foundation, and (b) on a semi-infinite elastic continuum. For an
w(x, y) = JJ p(H, r,)Kom)dtdV (21) assumed set of material constants the agreement seems to be
satisfactory except along the free edges in the case of reactions
where concentrated line reactions appear. The reaction graphs
where the integration is to be performed over the loaded region A. suggest that the line reactions are idealizations, resulting from
the simplifying assumptions made with regard to the foundation
behavior, and represent in reality a strong increase of the reaction
Plates on Pasternak-Type Foundations forces in a narrow region near the edge. This edge effect can be
The D E of a thin plate of constant thickness subjected to a classified mathematically as an asymptotic phenomenon [24]
distributed lateral load q(x, y) and a foundation interface pressure similar to the concentrated corner reaction in the classical plate
p(x, y) is theory.

DV2V2«> = q ~ V (22) Wieghardt [21], treating the finite elastic beam on a continuous
foundation (of the Pasternak type as shown before), assumed the
where D is the flexural rigidity of the plate. For the case of a occurrence of concentrated reactions at the beam ends as physi-
plate resting on a Pasternak foundation of the type shown in Fig. cally impossible, and so arrived at an overdetermined problem;
7, the interface pressure is represented by equation (7). Assum- namely, the case of a fourth-order ordinary differential equation
ing that the plate maintains continuous contact with the base with six boundary conditions.
and that there are no shearing forces at the contacting surface, From the foregoing remarks, however, it can be concluded that
the D E of the plate assumes the form the question of "nonsolvability" of the problem as posed by
Wieghardt and further elaborated by Pflanz [25] is due to their
G k q
V2V2«> V 2 !" + w = — (23) misconception of the resulting problem. By assuming a certain
D D D kernel for the foundation behavior, usually an approximation is
introduced and the resulting solution is that of the approximation
It can be seen that an additional uniform compression or tension
and not of the real physical phenomenon. Thus Wieghardt's
field will affect only the constant at the Laplacian term.
assumption with respect to the occurrence of concentrated reac-
The differential operator of equation (23) can be split into a
tions at the beam ends is not justified (see also remarks by P.
product of two operators of second order; namely
Nemenyi [26]), and the problem is solvable for any load distribu-
tion allowable in classical plate theory.
(V 2 - £i)(V 2 - & ) » = (24)
D In this connection it is of interest to consider the proper BC
associated with equation (23), for plates of finite extent (Fig. 9).
where Differential equation (23) retained its order and type. It is a

Si,2 = i t s ± (s 2 - 40'/.] (25) " S e e reference [17], p. 117.

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 plate in
7777?.

Fig. 11

presence the slope of the foundation surface is not continuous

across the plate boundary.
Another Pasternak-type foundation (which will be referred to in
a later section) is shown in Fig. 10. For the derivation of the
plate equation we consider the plate deflection w consisting of two
parts

w(x, y) = wi(x, y) + w2(x, y) (34)

(b)
where wi is the deflection due to the contraction or extension of
Fig. 10
the upper spring layer and w2 due to the rest of the foundation.
According to Fig. 10(6) and equations (1) and (7)
fourth-order elliptic partial D E and hence two BC have to be pre-
p(x, y) = cwi (35)
scribed along the boundary of the plate. So, for example, for the
case of a "clamped" edge the B C are the same as in the case of and
plates on the Winkler foundation; namely
p(x, y) = kw2 — GVhv2 (36)
M B = 0 (28)
Performing (k/c)( ) and (GV 2 /c)(
) on equation (35) and sub-
tracting the resulting equations one from the other results in
(29)
[ dre JB k G
—p V p = kwi GV2i«i (37)
For a plate resting on a continuous foundation with a "free' c c
edge the situation is different. In this case there are two regions
which interact at the boundary B. The plate region R with de- Adding equation (36) and (37) we obtain the relation between the
flections ivP governed by equation (23) and the surrounding interface pressure and the deflection of the plate w as
foundation region F with deflections wF described by the second- G
order equation (7). V2p = kw - GV2w (38)
Since the shear force in the shear layer is
The D E of a thin plate (22) can be rewritten as
. dwF
-V„ = G (30)
dn £>V2V2 w + p = q (39)

and hence tlie shear force of plate and shear layer is Performing (k/c)( ) and — (G-'/c)V2( ) on equation (39) and
adding the resulting two equations and equation (39) we obtain,
_ d dwp noting equation (38), the following D E :
Q„ = -D — V2wP + G (31)
On On

K )
G
— DVhv - D V*w + GV2w - kw
c
we may write the necessary three B C for the edge as follows:

-R)
G „
M b = [wF]B', [Af„],i = 0 - V2q q (40)
c
(32)
This is a sixth-order partial D E and hence for the cases of clamped
or si m pi j' supported boundaries three BC are needed. Two BC
are those of the classical plate theory, the third one is obtained
The term dilI„,/i)s is the usual contribution of the twist moments
considering the behavior of the shear layer. So, for example, for
along the free edge of the plate. So in the case of a circular plate
the case of a circular plate clamped along the edge, as shown in
of radius a subjected to an axially symmetrical load the B C along
Fig. 11, the two B C are
the edge r = a are
w(a) = 0 (41)
p ^ - ^ dwri
Ja
=
wP(a) = wr(a)

[SL-
' L dr" r dr
(33) (42)
„ d „ dwP
D — Vhvp + G
dr dr 1 = < M As the third BC we may prescribe for cases of strong adhesion of
the foundation material to the rigid wall
The first term in the third B C is the concentrated line reaction
along the plate boundary B. It can be seen that because of its w2(a) = 0 (43)

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 x+dx

On the other hand, if no friction forces are expected between m,vdx dy = (A\dx)dy (48)
foundation material and the surrounding wall, the condition
Noting equation (5) it follows that
which will more truly describe this physical situation is N r (a) = 0,
which leads to the BC dw dw
= 6r ; in, = G (49)
~dio2~T dx ' " ty
= 0 (44)
, J0
Hence the moments m„ and m,y are proportional to the respec-
To express w2 in terms of w we note that according to (34) and tive slopes (here identical with angles of rotation) with the shear
(3.5) modulus G as proportionality constant. This argument gives
the constant ki in equation (8) a physical meaning.
p = c(w — w>) (45)

and substituting it into (39) we obtain Plates on the Reissner Foundation

D q The differential equation for this problem is obtained by elimi-
wi = — y4u> + io — (46)
nating p from equations (10) and (39) in a similar manner as was
c c done to obtain equation (40). The resulting equation is

Therefore BC (43) assumes the form C-2

(47) D — V 6 'o - DV J io + c,y 2 io CIW = 1 + t - V'2 (50)
4c, 4ci
[i>V4io + cio - q]a = 0
For the case of a circular plate subjected to a lateral load q with a It is of interest to note that for the case c = 3k, equation (50)
"free" boundary we have to consider two regions which interact is identical with equation (40) if we set
at the plate boundary B. The plate region R with deflections wP
governed by the sixth-order equation (40) and the surrrounding G = iHG,
foundation region F with deflections wP described by the second-
(51)
order D E (7). Noting that here because of the upper spring k = II
layer no concentrated reactions can occur along the edges of the H
plate S BC may be prescribed; namely
thus establishing a Pasternak-type model for the Reissner founda-
[il/,]„ = 0; [Vr]a = 0; tUi(a) = wF(a) tion.
Because D E (50) is of the same type and order as D E (40), and
dwf| _ Vfafl
[ dr 1 L
I = I= H ;
" dr JJ »,(») = 0 because of the physical similarity of the problem, the discussion
of the BC is very similar to the discussion of the BC corresponding
to DE (40). In this connection it should be pointed out that the
and three BC which should secure that wp, w2, and their deriva-
third BC as suggested by E. Reissner [18] and which is also in-
tives should be finite in the plate region R.
cluded in the paper by K. S. Pister and M. L. Williams [28] is
valid only in the very special case when the foundation material
Plates on "Generalized" Foundation under the finite plate is separated along the cylindrical boundary
As mentioned previously, this problem has been treated re- from the surrounding foundation material or walls, as in the case
cently in a number of papers [8-14], In this section it will be which led to B C (44).
shown that a Pasternak-type foundation model as shown in Fig.
7 is a possible mechanical model for the "generalized" foundation-1 Viscoelastic Pasternak Foundation
and hence the problems solved in [8-14] are also solutions to the
In this section the concept of the Pasternak foundation is ex-
corresponding cases of plates on a Pasternak foundation and vice
tended for cases of viscoelastic deformations. This is achieved
versa.
by adding linear viscous elements to the elastic elements of the
To show the equivalence of these two foundation models let us
foundation model in parallel and/or series arrangements. Pro-
consider the equilibrium of a plate element interconnected with
ceeding in this manner it is possible to create a number of models
an element of the Pasternak foundation cut out by the surfaces x,
which will depend upon the expected foundation behavior.
x + dx, y, and y + dy as shown in Fig. 12.
To demonstrate the procedure, in the following two such
It can be seen that the moment-equilibrium equations of the
possibilities will be discussed. We start with a model to represent
plate element are equal to those- of the plate theory 6 plus the
a semi-infinite snow base [29, 30],
moments m,x and m,u, respectively, caused by the shear forces N x
and Ny of the shear layer, where Results of footing load tests performed on a snow base by the
Snow Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE now
m,xdx dy = (Nxdy)dx CRREL), U. S. Army in Greenland in 1959 are shown in Fig. 13.
1 I n d i c a t e d in [7], It can be observed that after a relatively short initial period the
1 See reference [27], p. 80. time-displacement relationship is linear. This suggests the

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 VISCOUS
p sheer
loyer

Fig. 15

elastic
plate in viscous
bending shear
Days

/ m T j r - A
Fig. 13

viscous iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
shear
layer j M n i h a a a
rrrr///7/// //////////f/7 //}///

Fig. 16

Equation (54) is the D E for the vertical displacement of the

foundation surface due to creep.
For the case of a line load P along the j/-axis, equation (54)
Fig 14 reduces to

possibility to assume Newton's law for the viscous behavior. (56)

Also because the elastic deformations which take place imme- dl2
diately after the application of the load are very small as com-
pared with the creep deformations, it seems justified to assume a Assuming the solution in the form w = X(x)T(t) and noting that
foundation model as shown in Fig. 14. The total deflection is for I = 0 the deflections due to creep are zero, we obtain
then
w(x, I) = — te i n (57)
Wtotal = '"elastic + w
2n
where ifleinst>c is obtainable in the usual manner and iv is the de-
flection due to creep. Thus the surface of the foundation will deform according to an
exponential function and the time-deflection relation will be of the
The mathematical formulation for w is similar to that of the
nature of the dashed line shown in Fig. 13.
elastic case. Now, however, according to Newton's law of vis-
cosity For some other foundations such as relatively tliin snow layers
or certain permafrost foundations, where after the application of
dhv d2w dw the load the movements are expected to cease, for the loading
N. A7., = = (52)
' dx dl' ' dy dt' process, a simple model shown in Fig. 15 may come in question.
Here the elastic spring stands for the rigidity of the foundation
in which dw/dl is the downward velocity of the foundation sur- against compression, and determines the final value of the com-
face. Thus, in addition to the elastic constant two other material pressibility of the base. It has nothing to do with the elastic
constants enter the analysis; i.e., a viscosity coefficient p. related properties of the foundation material. This interpretation seems
to the shear deformations of the vertical foundation elements and to be justified since we are interested here only in the response of
t], a viscocompressibility coefficient. (The assumption that t] re- the foundation surface to loads.
mains constant seems to be justified when the foundation dimen-
The formulation is as before. In the present case, however,
sions are very large in comparison with the dimensions of the
loaded area.) dho d2w dw
Since for the cases under consideration the movements of the A' Nv = P = V -^r + « « (58)
dx dt' dy dl dt
foundation are very slow, the inertia terms are neglected. Sub-
stituting equations (52) into (6) we obtain Substituting equations (58) into the equilibrium equation (6) we
obtain the DE
dw
( d3w
dx*dt
dhv \
dy*dl) ~ V dl
+ P(x, y, I) = 0 (53)
H-V'w-r,
dw
-v (59)
1)7
Differentiation of equation (53) with respect to t for a time-
independent load p = p(x, ?/) reduces it to Solutions for different load configurations can now be obtained.
a2
— (V 2 -
dr
A*)w = 0 (54)
Plates on Viscoelastic Foundations
The DE of a laterally loaded thin elastic plate resting on a
in which
viscous foundation of the Pasternak type shown in Fig. 16 is ob-
d2 d* , „ Ti tained substituting equation (53) into equation (22). The re-
V2 1 and X2 = — (55)
bx2 di/2 M sulting DE for the deflection w(x, y, t) is

Journal of Applied Mechanics SEPTEMBER 1 9 64 / 497

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 elastic elastic
plate in vtscous p l a t e in viscous
b e n••-•••a
ding » ss hn ee au rr bending shear
q layer
/ ^
i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i m i i i i m

• n o o r t r t r t

rrrr7T77T777777777Y7 77777777777
Fig. 17

d i>w ,„„,
DV2V2w - IJ- ~ V-w +?/ — = ? (60)
dt 01
S P. L . Pasternak, " T h e o r y of B e a m s on a C o n t i n u o u s Elastically
F o r t h e case o f t h e f o u n d a t i o n s h o w n in F i g . 17, t h e r e s u l t i n g D E R o t a t i n g and Elastically Settling F o u n d a t i o n " (in Russian), N a u e h n o -
Isledovatel'skaya Konferencia M I S I , 1937 ( R e f . in [7]).
9 B . S. Kovalskii, "Stress Analysis of H e a t E x c h a n g e A p p a r a -
d dw
DV-V'w — /x — V-w + J? f- cw = q (61) t u s " (in Russian), Inzhinierny Sbornik, A c a d e m y of Sciences U S S R ,
dt dt vol. 6, 1950.
10 S. N . S o k o l o v , " C i r c u l a r Plate on a Generalized F o u n d a t i o n "
W i t h t h e B C o f t h e classical p l a t e t h e o r y a n d initial c o n d i t i o n s (in Russian), Inzhinierny Sbornik, A c a d e m y of Sciences U S S R , vol. 11,
e q u a t i o n s ( 6 0 ) a n d ( 6 1 ) c o n s t i t u t e t h e f o r m u l a t i o n s of t h e r e s p e c - 1952.
tive problem. 11 Ju. V . Jakovlev, " O n the Analysis of H e a t E x c h a n g e A p -
p a r a t u s " (in Russian), Trudi Kharkovskogo Aviatsionnogo Instituta,
F o r cases w h e r e t h e i n s t a n t a n e o u s e l a s t i c d e f o r m a t i o n s of t h e
N o . 15, 1954.
f o u n d a t i o n will c a u s e s u b s t a n t i a l stresses in t h e e l a s t i c plate, 12 W . Urbanowski, " S o m e Cases o f Circular Plates I n t e r c o n -
t h e e l a s t i c r e s p o n s e h a s t o b e i n c l u d e d in t h e f o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e nected with an Elastic Base of Generalized P r o p e r t i e s " (in Polish),
problem. S o f o r s o m e s i t u a t i o n s t h e m o d e l s h o w n in F i g . 18 m a y Zeszyly ATaukowe Politechniki Warszawskiej, Mechanika, No. 3
be a suitable representation. The D E f o r t h i s p r o b l e m is o b - P W N , Warsaw, Poland, 1956.
13 B . K . Venckovskii, " B e n d i n g of Annular and Circular Plates
t a i n e d in a s i m i l a r m a n n e r as w a s d o n e t o o b t a i n e q u a t i o n ( 4 0 ) .
on a Generalized F o u n d a t i o n under the C o m b i n e d A c t i o n of Lateral
T h e r e s u l t i n g e q u a t i o n is and R a d i a l F o r c e s " (in Russian), Raschety na Prochnost, Collection of
Papers, vol. 3, Mashgiz, M o s c o w , U S S R , 195S.
u d r? £> \ d dw
— z> — v 6 u> 14 G . D . Galletly, " C i r c u l a r Plates on a Generalized Elastic
1 + — V'B + MTtV'® V
c cM c dt ) dt dt Foundation," JOURNAL OF APPLIED MECHANICS, vol. 26, TRANS.
A S M E , vol. 81, Series E, 1959, p. 297.
d n do 15 P. Csonka, " B u c k l i n g of a C o l u m n Elastically Restrained
— V29 — q (62)
d< c A l o n g I t s Entire L e n g t h " (in Hungarian), Magyar Tudomanyos
Akademia Muszaki Tudomdnyok Osztalyanak Koztemenyc, 29, 1 / 4 ,
I t is of n o t e t h a t this e q u a t i o n is v a l i d o n l y w h e n t h e c h a n g e of q 1961.
w i t h t i m e is s o s m a l l t h a t t h e i n e r t i a t e r m s a r e n e g l i g i b l e . 16 V . Z. V l a s o v , "Structural M e c h a n i c s of T h i n W a l l e d Tliree-
Dimensional S y s t e m s " (in Russian), Stroizdat, 1949.
F o r a t i m e - i n d e p e n d e n t l o a d , q(x, y), e q u a t i o n ( 6 2 ) r e d u c e s t o
17 V . Z . Vlasov and N . N . Leontiev, " B e a m s , Plates and Shells on
fx d an E l a s t i c F o u n d a t i o n " (in R u s s i a n ) , Fizmatgiz, M o s c o w , U S S R ,
V6(t) — y*w 1960.
d< \ c dt J 18 E . Reissner, " A N o t e on Deflections of Plates on a Viscoelastic
Foundation," JOURNAL OF APPLIED MECHANICS, vol. 25, TRANS.
fx d dw
(63) ASME, vol. 80, 1958, pp. 144-145.
~df D 19 Discussion b y J. Ratzersdorfer, 2. Internationale T a g u n g
ftlr Brilckenbau und H o c h b a u , W i e n , Austria, 1929, p p . 3 1 6 - 3 1 S .
T h e d i s c u s s i o n of t h e B C is similar as d o n e in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h 20 J. Ratzersdorfer, Die Knickfestigkeit von Stiiben und Stab-
e q u a t i o n ( 4 0 ) b u t , b e c a u s e o f t h e t i m e v a r i a b l e , a l s o initial c o n - werken. Springer, W i e n , Austria, 1936, p. 161.
ditions have to be prescribed. 21 K . Wieghardt, " U b e r den Balken auf nachgiebiger L T nterlage,"
Zeitsehrift fur angcivandte Mathematik und Mechanik, v o l . 2, 1922, p p .

Acknowledgment 165-184.
22 Y . - Y . Y u , " O n the Generalized ber, bei, ker and kei F u n c t i o n s
T h i s p a p e r is p a r t of t h e c o n s u l t i n g a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e a u t h o r f o r with Application t o Plate P r o b l e m s , " Quarterly Journal of Mechanics
and Applied Mathematics, v o l . 10, 1957, p p . 2 5 4 - 2 5 6 .
the C o l d R e g i o n s Research and Engineering L a b o r a t o r y ( C R R E L )
23 P . M . N a g h d i and J. C . R o w l e y , " O n the B e n d i n g of Axially
of t h e U . S. A r m y . T h e author wishes to thank D r . A . Assur,
S y m m e t r i c Plates o n Elastic F o u n d a t i o n s , " Proceedings of the First
Chief, Applied Research Branch C R R E L , for a critical review Midwestern Conference on Solid Mechanics, University of Illinois,
of the manuscript. 1953, p p . 119-123.
24 K . O. Friedrichs, " A s y m p t o t i c P h e n o m e n a in M a t h e m a t i c a l
References P h y s i c s , " Bulletin of The American
1955, p p . 4 8 5 - 5 0 4 .
Mathematical Society, v o l . 61,

1 E . Winkler, " D i e Lehre v o n der Elasticitaet u n d F e s t i g k e i t , " 25 E . Pfanz, "Untersuchungen Uber die Druckverteilung unter
Prag, D o m i n i c u s , 1867. belasteten Balken auf nachgiebiger U n t e r l a g e , " Ingcnieur-Archiv,
2 M . I . G o r b u n o v - P n s a d o v , " B e a m s and Plates on an E l a s t i c 1941.
B a s e , " Stroizdat, M o s c o w , U S S R , 1949. 26 P. Nem6nyi, " T r a g w e r k e auf elastisch nachgiebiger U n t e r -
3 A . F o p p l , Vorlesungen ilber Technische Mechanik, B . B . T e u b - l a g e , " Zeitsehrift fur angcivandte Mathematik und Mechanik, vol. 11,
ner, Leipzig, G e r m a n y , vol. 3, fourth edition, 1909, p. 228. 1931, p. 461.
4 M . M . F i l o n e n k o - B o r o d i c h , " S o m e A p p r o x i m a t e T h e o r i e s of 27 S. T i m o s h e n k o and S. W o i n o w s k y - K r i e g e r , Theory of Plates
the Elastic F o u n d a t i o n " (in Russian), Uchenyie Zapiski Moskovskogo and Shells, M c G r a w - H i l l B o o k C o m p a n y , Inc., N e w Y o r k , N . Y . ,
Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Mekhanica, N o . 46, 1940, p p . 3 - 1 8 . second edition, 1959.
5 M . Hetdnyi, Beams on Elastic Foundations, T h e University 28 K . S. Pister and M . L. Williams, " B e n d i n g of Plates on a Vis-
of Michigan Press, A n n A r b o r , M i c h . , 1946. coelastic F o u n d a t i o n , " Proc. ASCE, v o l . 86, N o . E M 5 , 1960, p p .
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an Elastic F o u n d a t i o n of Arbitrary C o n t i n u i t y , " Journal of Applied 29 A . D . Kerr, "Viscoelastic W i n k l e r F o u n d a t i o n with Shear I n -
Physics, vol. 21, 1950, p p . 5 5 - 5 8 . teractions," Proc. ASCE, v o l . 87, N o . E M 3 , 1961, p p . 1 3 - 3 0 .
7 P. L. Pasternak, " O n a N e w M e t h o d of Analysis of an Elastic 30 A . D . Kerr, " O n C o n t i n u i t y of F o u n d a t i o n M o d e l s and Related
F o u n d a t i o n b y M e a n s of T w o F o u n d a t i o n C o n s t a n t s " (in Russian), P r o b l e m s , " U . S. A r m y C R R E L Research R e p o r t 109.
Gosudarstvenrwe Izdatelslvo Literaturi po Stroitclstvu i Arkhitekture, 31 F. Schiel, " D e r S c h w i m m e n d e B a l k e n , " Zeitsehrift fur ange-
M o s c o w , U S S R , 1954. wandte Mathematik utul Mechanik, vol. 22, 1942, p p . 2 5 5 - 2 6 2 .

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