Use of the cell method for plane elastic problems in geotechnique

In the present work the use of the cell method (CM) for analysing geotechnical problems will be discussed. The essence of this method is a discrete formulation instead of a differential formulation. On the basis of this CM a computer code was developed which can be used to study the settlements related to a superficial load of an elastic multilayered soil system. With an adequate graphical support it is possible to illustrate the stress–strain state within the studied area. After an explanation of the bases of the CM an example of a simple geotechnical problem shall be presented. The problem will be limited to a two-dimensional strain state in an elastic field. The final results will be compared with the FEM analysis.