Torsional stiffness of non‐uniform and hollow rigid piers embedded in isotropic elastic media

This paper examines the torsional response of a rigid pier type foundation, with a non‐uniform or hollow cross‐section which is embedded in bonded contact with a layered elastic half space. The tractions which act at the axisymmetric boundary surface between the pier and the surrounding elastic medium are represented by discretized regions of uniform traction. The compatibility of deformation at the boundary is used to determine the interface stress distribution. The torque‐rotation response for the, rigid pier foundation is obtained for different choices of the pier geometry and shear modulus mistnatch between the layer and the underlying half space.