Axisymmetric analysis of multilayered media

A two-dimensional axisymmetric model, formulated within the framework of a mixed finite element technique, is presented for analysing the interaction between a static axisymmetric load and a layered pavement structure. The model incorporates the closed-form solutions for the displacement and mean normal stress fields in the radial direction, thereby reducing the problem discretization to one dimension. Linear interpolation is adopted for displacements with constant mean normal stress within each element. The use of a mixed formulation allows one to obtain solutions to linear elastic problems in which the Poisson's ratio may equal one half. An example is presented which compared the model predictions with those obtained from a closed form solution.