Plane Strain and Axially Symmetric Problems of the Consolidation of a Semi-Infinite Clay Stratum

In a previous paper (1) it was shown that the task of determining the displacements and stresses in a porous elastic medium could be facilitated by the introduction of two displacement functions and by the use of repeated transforms. Two problems of the semi-infinite body to the surface of which a uniform pressure is applied along an infinite strip or over a circular area are treated here in parallel. Expressions for quantities of engineering significance are derived when the surface is either fully permeable or completely impermeable to the flow of pore water, and the relation to the solutions of the equivalent elastic problems is discussed.