Transient dynamic response of multilayered saturated media subjected to impulsive loadings

This paper presents a stable and efficient method for calculating the transient solution of layered saturated media subjected to impulsive loadings by means of the analytical layer element method. Starting with the field equations based on Biot's linear theory for porous, fluid‐saturated media, and the seepage continuity equation, an analytical layer element for a single layer is established by applying Laplace‐Hankel integral transform. The global stiffness matrix in the transform domain for a layered saturated half‐space subjected to a transient circular patch loading is obtained by assembling the layer elements of each layer. The displacements in the time domain are derived by Laplace‐Hankel inverse transform of the global stiffness matrix. Numerical examples are conducted to verify the accuracy of the method and to demonstrate the influences of type of transient loading, buried depth of loading, permeability, and stratification of materials on the transient response of the multilayered saturated poroelastic media.