Abstract: To deal with the runway repair problem, this paper presents a complicated mechanical model, which is composed of two double layer rectangular plates resting on inhomogenous elastic foundation under airplane load. An corresponding numerical procedure of Finite Element Method(FEM) based on the Mindlin plate theory is constructed. Numerical results show a good agreement with the experimental results. The effects of some parameters, such as the plate thickness, radius of the filled foundation, on the maximum deflections and stress, are also investigated.

Key words: airplane load, two layer runway, Mindlin plate, inhomogenous foundation, FEM analysis