Three‐dimensional transient thermo‐hydro‐mechanical fundamental solutions of unsaturated soils

The governing differential equations of unsaturated soils considering the thermo‐poro‐mechanical behaviour consist of equilibrium, moisture air and heat transfer equations. In this paper at first, following some necessary simplifications, the thermal three‐dimensional fundamental solution for an unsaturated deformable porous medium with linear elastic behaviour in Laplace transform domain is presented. Subsequently, the closed‐form time domain fundamental solutions are derived by analytical inversion of the Laplace transform domain solutions. Then a set of numerical results are presented, which demonstrate the accuracies and some salient features of the derived analytical transient fundamental solutions. Finally, the closed‐form time domain fundamental solution will be verified mathematically by comparison with the previously introduced corresponding fundamental solution. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semi‐analytical solution to one‐dimensional consolidation for unsaturated soils with semi‐permeable drainage boundary under time‐dependent loading

This paper presents semi‐analytical solutions to Fredlund and Hasan's one‐dimensional consolidation of unsaturated soils with semi‐permeable drainage boundary under time‐dependent loadings. Two variables are introduced to transform two coupled governing equations of pore‐water and pore‐air pressures into an equivalent set of partial differential equations, which are easily solved by the Laplace transform. The pore‐water pressure, pore‐air pressure and settlement are obtained in the Laplace domain. Crump's method is adopted to perform the inverse Laplace transform in order to obtain semi‐analytical solutions in time domain. It is shown that the present solutions are more general and have a good agreement with the existing solutions from literatures. Furthermore, the current solutions can also be degenerated into conventional solutions to one‐dimensional consolidation of unsaturated soils with homogeneous boundaries. Finally, several numerical examples are provided to illustrate consolidation behavior of unsaturated soils under four types of time‐dependent loadings, including instantaneous loading, ramp loading, exponential loading and sinusoidal loading. Parametric studies are illustrated by variations of pore‐air pressure, pore‐water pressure and settlement at different values of the ratio of air–water permeability coefficient, depth and loading parameters. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A discretized analytical solution for fully coupled non‐linear simulation of heat and mass transfer in poroelastic unsaturated media

Mathematical simulation of non‐isothermal multiphase flow in deformable unsaturated porous media is a complicated issue because of the need to employ multiple partial differential equations, the need to take into account mass and energy transfer between phases and because of the non‐linear nature of the governing partial differential equations. In this paper, an analytical solution for analyzing a fully coupled problem is presented for the one‐dimensional case where the coefficients of the system of equations are assumed to be constant for the entire domain. A major issue is the non‐linearity of the governing equations, which is not considered in the analytical solution. In order to introduce the non‐linearity of the equations, an iterative discretized procedure is used. The domain of the problem is divided into identical time–space elements that cover the time–space domain. A separate system of equations is defined for each element in the local coordinate system, the initial and boundary conditions for each element are obtained from the adjacent elements and the coefficients of the system of equations are considered to be constant in each step. There are seven governing differential equations that should be solved simultaneously: the equilibrium of the solid skeleton, mass conservation of fluids (water, water vapor and gas) and energy conservation of phases (solid, liquid and gas). The water vapor is not in equilibrium with water and different phases do not have the same temperature. The governing equations that have been solved seem to be the most comprehensive in this field. Three examples are presented for analyzing heat and mass transfer in a semi‐infinite column of unsaturated soil. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A closed form analytical solution for two‐dimensional plane strain consolidation of unsaturated soil stratum

This paper discusses the excess pore‐air and pore‐water pressure dissipations and the average degree of consolidation in the 2D plane strain consolidation of an unsaturated soil stratum using eigenfunction expansion and Laplace transformation techniques. In this study, the application of a constant external loading on a soil surface is assumed to immediately generate uniformly or linearly distributed initial excess pore pressures. The general solutions consisting of eigenfunctions and eigenvalues are first proposed. The Laplace transform is then applied to convert the time variable t in partial differential equations into the Laplace complex argument s. Once the domain is obtained, a simplified set of equations with variable s can be achieved. The final analytical solutions can be computed by taking a Laplace inverse. The proposed equations predict the two‐dimensional consolidation behaviour of an unsaturated soil stratum capturing the uniformly and linearly distributed initial excess pore pressures. This study investigates the effects of isotropic and anisotropic permeability conditions on variations of excess pore pressures and the average degree of consolidation. Additionally, isochrones of excess pore pressures along vertical and horizontal directions are presented. It is found that the initial distribution of pore pressures, varying with depth, results in considerable effects on the pore‐water pressure dissipation rate whilst it has insignificant effects on the excess pore‐air pressure dissipation rate. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coupled formulation and algorithms for the simulation of non‐planar three‐dimensional hydraulic fractures using the generalized finite element method

This paper presents a coupled hydro‐mechanical formulation for the simulation of non‐planar three‐dimensional hydraulic fractures. Deformation in the rock is modeled using linear elasticity, and the lubrication theory is adopted for the fluid flow in the fracture. The governing equations of the fluid flow and elasticity and the subsequent discretization are fully coupled. A Generalized/eXtended Finite Element Method (G/XFEM) is adopted for the discretization of the coupled system of equations. A Newton–Raphson method is used to solve the resulting system of nonlinear equations. A discretization strategy for the fluid flow problem on non‐planar three‐dimensional surfaces and a computationally efficient strategy for handling time integration combined with mesh adaptivity are also presented. Several three‐dimensional numerical verification examples are solved. The examples illustrate the generality and accuracy of the proposed coupled formulation and discretization strategies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analytical layer‐element method for non‐axisymmetric consolidation of multilayered soils

A numerically efficient and stable method is developed to analyze Biot's consolidation of multilayered soils subjected to non‐axisymmetric loading in arbitrary depth. By the application of a Laplace–Hankel transform and a Fourier expansion, the governing equations are solved analytically. Then, the analytical layer‐element (i.e. a symmetric stiffness matrix) describing the relationship between generalized displacements and stresses of a layer is exactly derived in the transformed domain. Considering the continuity conditions between adjacent layers, the global stiffness matrix of multilayered soils is obtained by assembling the inter‐related layer‐elements. Once the solution in the Laplace–Hankel transformed domain that satisfies the boundary conditions has been obtained, the actual solution can be derived by the inversion of the Laplace–Hankel transform. Finally, numerical examples are presented to verify the theory and to study the influence of the layered soil properties and time history on the consolidation behavior. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implementation of the finite element method in the three‐dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis (3D‐DDA)

A modified three‐dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis (3D‐DDA) method is derived using four‐noded tetrahedral elements to improve the accuracy of current 3D‐DDA algorithm in practical applications. The analysis program for the modified 3D‐DDA method is developed in a C++ environment and its accuracy is illustrated through comparisons with several analytical solutions that are available for selected problems. The predicted solutions for these problems using the modified 3D‐DDA approach all show satisfactory agreement with the corresponding analytical results. Results presented in this paper demonstrate that the modified 3D‐DDA method with discontinuous modeling capabilities offers a useful computational tool to determine stresses and deformations in practical problems involving fissured elastic media with reasonable accuracy. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Response of a tunnel deeply embedded in a viscoelastic medium

This paper presents a three‐dimensional energy‐based solution for the time‐dependent response of a deeply embedded and unsupported semi‐infinite tunnel of circular cross‐section. The tunnel is taken to be excavated quasi‐instantaneously from an infinite rock body that initially exhibits an isotropic stress state and that is made up of a homogeneous, isotropic and viscoelastic material. The viscoelastic behaviour is modelled by means of Burger's model, and the rock is taken to behave volumetrically linear elastic and to exhibit exclusively deviatoric creep. This viscoelastic problem is transformed into the Laplace domain, where it represents a quasi‐elastic problem. The displacement fields in the new solution are taken to be the products of independent functions that vary in the radial and longitudinal directions. The differential equations governing the displacements of the system and appropriate boundary conditions are obtained using the principle of minimum potential energy. The solutions for these governing equations in the Laplace domain are then obtained analytically and numerically using a one‐dimensional finite difference technique. The results are then transformed back into the time domain using an efficient numerical scheme. The accuracy of the new solution is comparable with that of a finite element analysis but requires much less computation effort. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two‐scale modeling of solute dispersion in unsaturated double‐porosity media: Homogenization and experimental validation

A two‐scale modeling of solute transport in double‐porosity (DP) media under unsaturated water flow conditions is presented. The macroscopic model was developed by applying the asymptotic homogenization method. It is based on theoretical and empirical considerations dealing with the orders of magnitude of characteristic quantities involved in the process. For this purpose a physical model that mimics the behavior of DP medium was built. The resulting two‐equation model relies on a coupling exchange term between micro‐ and macro‐porosity subdomains associated with local non‐equilibrium solute concentrations. The model was numerically implemented (Comsol Multiphysics^®) to simulate the macroscopic one‐dimensional physical process taking place into the porous medium of 3D periodic microstructure. A series of dispersion experiments of NaCl solution under unsaturated steady‐state flow conditions were performed. The experimental results were used first to calibrate the dispersion coefficient of the model, and second to validate it through two other independent experiments. The excellent agreement between the numerical simulations and the measurements of the time evolution of the non‐symmetrical breakthrough curves provides a proof of predictive capacity of the developed model. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semi‐analytical far field model for three‐dimensional finite‐element analysis

A challenging computational problem arises when a discrete structure (e.g. foundation) interacts with an unbounded medium (e.g. deep soil deposit), particularly if general loading conditions and non‐linear material behaviour is assumed. In this paper, a novel method for dealing with such a problem is formulated by combining conventional three‐dimensional finite‐elements with the recently developed scaled boundary finite‐element method. The scaled boundary finite‐element method is a semi‐analytical technique based on finite‐elements that obtains a symmetric stiffness matrix with respect to degrees of freedom on a discretized boundary. The method is particularly well suited to modelling unbounded domains as analytical solutions are found in a radial co‐ordinate direction, but, unlike the boundary‐element method, no complex fundamental solution is required. A technique for coupling the stiffness matrix of bounded three‐dimensional finite‐element domain with the stiffness matrix of the unbounded scaled boundary finite‐element domain, which uses a Fourier series to model the variation of displacement in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical co‐ordinate system, is described. The accuracy and computational efficiency of the new formulation is demonstrated through the linear elastic analysis of rigid circular and square footings. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A non‐coaxial critical state soil model and its application to simple shear simulations

The yield vertex non‐coaxial theory is implemented into a critical state soil model, CASM (Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 1998; 22 :621–653) to investigate the non‐coaxial influences on the stress–strain simulations of real soil behaviour in the presence of principal stress rotations. The CASM is a unified clay and sand model, developed based on the soil critical state concept and the state parameter concept. Without loss of simplicity, it is capable of simulating the behaviour of sands and clays within a wide range of densities. The non‐coaxial CASM is employed to simulate the simple shear responses of Erksak sand and Weald clay under different densities and initial stress states. Dependence of the soil behaviour on the Lode angle and different plastic flow rules in the deviatoric plane are also considered in the study of non‐coaxial influences. All the predictions indicate that the use of the non‐coaxial model makes the orientations of the principal stress and the principal strain rate different during the early stage of shearing, and they approach the same ultimate values with an increase in loading. These ultimate orientations are dependent on the density of soils, and independent of their initial stress states. The use of the non‐coaxial model also softens the shear stress evolutions, compared with the coaxial model. It is also found that the ultimate shear strengths by using the coaxial and non‐coaxial models are dependent on the plastic flow rules in the deviatoric plane. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Elasto‐plastic modelling of stress‐path‐dependent behaviour of interfaces

A single‐surface elasto‐plastic model developed by Desai and his coworkers is used to predict the behaviour of an interface between sand and a steel plate. The loading in the experiments and in their predictions followed various stress and displacement paths. The results of predictions of the two‐ and three‐dimensional behaviour of the interface under both constant normal stress and constant normal stiffness conditions are presented. The predictions are compared with their corresponding experimental results. The model parameters were determined on the basis of 2‐D conventional experiments under the condition of constant normal stress and they were used in the prediction of the interface behaviour in various stress paths. There is, in general, a good agreement between the predicted and experimental results. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Linear coupled analysis of desiccation shrinkage in a double‐layer partially saturated medium: semi‐explicit solutions

Solutions are presented for the problem of isothermal dessiccation shrinkage in a double‐layer porous partially saturated medium. The rheological model taken into account is linear poroelastic. Hence the analysis is mainly focused on hydromechanical coupling effects and contrasts of mechanical and hydraulic properties between two materials: a low thickness skin comprised between the outer boundary and the reference porous material. Three one‐dimensional ideal structures are taken into account: a wall of finite thickness (cartesian geometry), a thick cylinder and a thick sphere. The solution of the time‐dependent problem is arrived at by applying Laplace transforms to the field variables. Exact solutions are obtained in Laplace transform space using Mathematica^© to solve the field equations whilst taking into account the continuity equations at the interface and the boundary conditions. The Talbot's modified algorithm has been performed to invert the Laplace transform solutions. A bibliographical and numerical study shows that this method is remarkably precise, stable and close to the analytical inversion. Results are presented using poroelastic data representative of a concrete material and involve a strong coupling effect between hydraulical and mechanical behaviours. A first approach elastic modelling of degradation process have been presented using a thin outer layer. Apart from emphasising the semi‐explicit solution utility due to accurate speed calculation, this paper deals with more complex problems than those which can be solved using purely analytical solutions. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three dimensional simulation of fluid flow in X‐ray CT images of porous media

A numerical scheme is developed in order to simulate fluid flow in three dimensional (3‐D) microstructures. The governing equations for steady incompressible flow are solved using the semi‐implicit method for pressure‐linked equations (SIMPLE) finite difference scheme within a non‐staggered grid system that represents the 3‐D microstructure. This system allows solving the governing equations using only one computational cell. The numerical scheme is verified through simulating fluid flow in idealized 3‐D microstructures with known closed form solutions for permeability. The numerical factors affecting the solution in terms of convergence and accuracy are also discussed. These factors include the resolution of the analysed microstructure and the truncation criterion. Fluid flow in 2‐D X‐ray computed tomography (CT) images of real porous media microstructure is also simulated using this numerical model. These real microstructures include field cores of asphalt mixes, laboratory linear kneading compactor (LKC) specimens, and laboratory Superpave gyratory compactor (SGC) specimens. The numerical results for the permeability of the real microstructures are compared with the results from closed form solutions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A semi‐analytical modeling approach for three‐dimensional heat transfer in sparsely fractured rocks with water flow and distributed heat source

A semi‐analytical approach is developed for modeling 3D heat transfer in sparsely fractured rocks with prescribed water flow and heat source. The governing differential equations are formulated, and the corresponding integral equations over the fracture faces and the distributed heat source are established in the Laplace transformed domain using the Green function method with local systems of coordinates. The algebraic equations of the Laplace transformed temperatures of water in the fractures are formed by dividing the integrals into elemental ones; in particular, the fracture faces are discretized into rectangular elements, over which the integrations are carried out either analytically for singular integrals when the base point is involved or numerically for regular integrals when otherwise. The solutions of the algebraic equations are inverted numerically to obtain the real‐time temperatures of water in the fractures, which may be employed to calculate the temperatures at prescribed locations of the rock matrix. Three example calculations are presented to illustrate the workability of the developed approach. The calculations found that water flux in the fractures may decrease the rate of temperature rise in regions close to the distributed heat source and increase the rate of temperature rise in regions downstream away from the distributed heat source and that the temperature distribution and evolvement in a sparsely fractured rock mass may be significantly influenced by water flow exchange at intersection of fractures. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A visco‐plastic constitutive model for granular soils modified according to non‐local and gradient approaches

An already available non‐associated elastic–viscoplastic constitutive model with anisotropic strain hardening is modified in order to describe both the constitutive parameter dependency on relative density and the spatio‐temporal evolution of strain localization. To achieve this latter goal, two distinct but similar approaches are introduced: one inspired by the gradient theory and one by the non‐local theory. A one‐dimensional case concerning a simple shear test for a non‐homogeneous infinitely long dense sand specimen is numerically discussed and a finite difference scheme is employed for this purpose. The results obtained by following the two different approaches are critically analysed and compared. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Theoretical analyses of nonaqueous phase liquid dissolution‐induced instability in two‐dimensional fluid‐saturated porous media

This paper deals with the theoretical aspects of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL)‐dissolution‐induced instability in two‐dimensional fluid‐saturated porous media including solute dispersion effects.After some weaknesses associated with the previous work are analyzed and overcome, a comprehensive dimensionless number, known as the Zhao number, is proposed to represent the main driving force and three controlling mechanisms of an NAPL‐dissolution system that has a finite domain. The linear stability analysis is carried out to derive the critical value of the comprehensive dimensionless number of the NAPL‐dissolution system in a limit case as the ratio of the equilibrium concentration to the density of the NAPL approaches zero. As a result, a theoretical criterion that can be used to assess the instability of planar NAPL‐dissolution fronts in two‐dimensional fluid‐saturated porous media of finite domains has been established. Not only can the present theoretical results be used for the theoretical understanding of the effect of solute dispersion on the instability of an NAPL‐dissolution front in the fluid‐saturated porous medium of either a finite domain or an infinite domain, but also they can be used as benchmark solutions for verifying numerical methods employed to simulate detailed morphological evolution processes of NAPL‐dissolution fronts in two‐dimensional fluid‐saturated porous media. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Compressibility and permeability of sand–kaolin mixtures. Experiments versus non‐linear homogenization schemes

This study deals with the behaviour of mixtures of sand and saturated kaolin paste considered as composite materials made of permeable and deformable (with non‐linear behaviour) matrix (the kaolin paste) with rigid and impervious inclusions (the sand grains). Oedometric and permeability tests highlight the key role of the state of the clay paste, and show the existence of a threshold of sand grain concentration above which a structuring effect influences both compressibility and permeability. At the light of these experiments two homogenization schemes (with simplifying assumptions to make the problem manageable) are considered to model these two parameters. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons with experimental data point out their respective domain of interest and limitations: a tangent homogenization scheme is shown to be sufficient to describe the macroscopic properties for dilute sand concentration; above the concentration threshold, the structuring effect is captured by the new homogenization scheme developed in this paper. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A quasistatic analysis of a plate on consolidating layered soils by analytical layer‐element/finite element method coupling

In this paper, a coupling method between finite element and analytical layer‐elements is utilized to analyze the time‐dependent behavior of a plate of any shape and finite rigidity resting on layered saturated soils. Based on the integral transform techniques together with the aid of an order reduction method, an analytical layer‐element solution is derived from the governing equations for three‐dimensional Biot consolidation with respect to a Cartesian coordinate system and then extended to be the fundamental solution for the layered saturated soil under a point load. The Mindlin plate is modeled by eight‐noded isoparametric elements. The governing equations of the interaction between soil and plate in the Laplace‐Fourier transformed domain are deduced by referring to the coupling theory of FEM/BEM, and the final solution is obtained by applying numerical inversion. Numerical examples concerned with the time‐dependent response of a plate are performed to demonstrate the influence of soil and plate properties on the interaction process. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.