Question

The assumption of Boussinesq equation is that the soil is ______________

(a) elastic

(b) semi-elastic

(c) plastic

(d) semi-plastic

The question was posed to me by my college director while I was bunking the class.

The origin of the question is Stress Distribution topic in portion Stress Distribution of Geotechnical Engineering I

Answer 1

Correct answer is (a) elastic

The best explanation: Boussinesq solved the problems of stress distribution in soils due to a concentrated loads acting at the ground surface. The assumptions made are based on theory of elasticity. Therefore, the soil is considered to be elastic.