Graphical Distribution of Vertical Pressure Beneath Foundations

The most important part of the analysis of foundations deals with the settlement of structures due to the consolidation of ·compressible strata of clay and fine saturated silt located at some depth beneath the structure. This involves the practical application of the theory of elasticity in the determination of the state of stress in the underground. In the present state of knowledge the Boussinesq equation for the pressure at a .point within the soil mass, due to a point load concentrated at the surface, is the logical basis for this determination. The practical side of the solution of such problems requires a simplification of procedure, in order to make the valuable method of analysis more available. A method is suggested which makes use of the ideas of the influence line and of graphical integration.