Elastic settlement of ring foundations

In this paper, numerical computations using the finite difference method are carried out in order to investigate the settlement of ring foundations resting over an elastic half space. The main goal of the present work is to introduce a closed form solution for calculating elastic settlement of ring foundations. The settlement calculation of a ring footing is achievable by definition of displacement influence factors, which is commonly used in the domain of elasticity theory. The influence factors obtained in this study address the ring geometry, footing stiffness, footing embedment, and the soil non-homogeneity by which it is assumed that the soil elastic modulus increases linearly with depth. Computational results are presented in the form of graphs and correspondent mathematical expressions are proposed for the influence factors, for use in practical applications in the analysis and design of ring footings. The results are also compared with the published numerical and analytical data for the influence factors of circular footings as a benchmark verification.