Undrained behaviour of a non-homogeneous elastic medium: the influence of variations in the elastic shear modulus with depth

This paper examines the axisymmetric interior loading problem for an incompressible isotropic elastic half-space where the linear elastic shear modulus varies with depth. In particular, the non-homogeneity has an exponential variation either over the entire depth of the half-space, or over a finite depth beyond which it is constant. The mathematical formulation of the traction boundary value problem is developed through the application of integral transform techniques, and the numerical results obtained are compared with results derived from a computational procedure involving a finite-element approach.