Analytical solution to 1D coupled water infiltration and deformation in unsaturated soils

An analytical solution to 1D coupled water infiltration and deformation is derived using a Fourier integral transform. Exponential functional forms are used to represent the hydraulic conductivity–pore‐water pressure relationship and the soil‐water characteristic curve. Fredlund's incremental‐linear constitutive model for unsaturated soils is adopted. The analytical solution considers arbitrary initial pore‐water pressure distributions and flux and pressure boundary conditions. The corresponding analytical solutions to coupled steady‐state problems are also obtained. The analytical solutions demonstrate that the coupling of seepage and deformation plays an important role in water infiltration in unsaturated soils. In the early stages of infiltration, the difference between uncoupled and coupled conditions becomes marked over time, and in late stages, the difference caused by the coupling effects diminishes toward the steady state. The difference between the uncoupled and coupled conditions increases with decreasing desaturation coefficient (α). Pore‐water pressure or deformation changes caused by the coupling effects are mainly controlled by the degree of soil volume change due to a change in soil suction (H). The smaller the absolute value of H, the greater the effect of coupling on the infiltration and deformation. The ratio of rainfall intensity to saturated permeability (q/k_s) also has a strong influence on the coupled seepage and deformation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analytical solution to 1D coupled water infiltration and deformation in two‐layer unsaturated soils

An analytical solution to 1D coupled water infiltration and deformation in layered soils is derived using a Laplace transformation. Coupling between seepage and deformation, and initial conditions defined by arbitrary continuous pore‐water pressure distributions are considered. The analytical solutions describe the transient pore‐water pressure distributions during 1D, vertical infiltration toward the water table through two‐layer unsaturated soils. The nonlinear coupled formulations are first linearized and transformed into a form that is solvable using a Laplace transformation. The solutions provide a reliable means of comparing the accuracy of various numerical methods. Parameters considered in the coupled analysis include the saturated permeability (k_s), desaturation coefficient (α), and saturated volumetric water content (θ_s) of each soil layer, and antecedent and subsequent rainfall infiltration rates. The analytical solution demonstrates that the coupling of seepage and deformation plays an important role in water infiltration in layered unsaturated soils. A smaller value of α or a smaller absolute value of the elastic modulus of the soil with respect to a change in soil suction (H) for layered unsaturated soils means more marked coupling effect. A smaller absolute value of H of the upper layer soil also tends to cause more marked coupling effect. A large difference between the saturated coefficients of permeability for the top and bottom soil layers leads to reduced rainfall infiltration into the deep soil layer. The initial conditions also play a significant role in the pore‐water pressure redistribution and coupling effect. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical analysis of a one‐dimensional infiltration problem in unsaturated soil by a seepage–deformation coupled method

A multiphase coupled elasto‐viscoplastic finite element analysis formulation, based on the theory of porous media, is used to describe the rainfall infiltration process into a one‐dimensional soil column. Using this framework, we have numerically analyzed the generation of pore water pressure and deformations when rainfall is applied to the soil. A parametric study, including rainfall intensity, soil–water characteristic curves, and permeability, is carried out to observe their influence on the changes in pore water pressure and volumetric strain. From the numerical results, it is shown that the generation of pore water pressure and volumetric strain is mainly controlled by material parameters α and n′ that describe the soil–water characteristic curve. A comparison with the laboratory results shows that the proposed method can describe very well the characteristics observed during the experiments of one‐dimensional water infiltration into a layered unsaturated soil column. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simple analytical solution to one‐dimensional consolidation for unsaturated soils

This paper presents a simple analytical solution to Fredlund and Hasan's one‐dimensional (1‐D) consolidation theory for unsaturated soils. The coefficients of permeability and volume change for unsaturated soils are assumed to remain constant throughout the consolidation process. The mathematical expression of the present solution is much simpler compared with the previous available solutions in the literature. Two new variables are introduced to transform the two coupled governing equations of pore‐water and pore‐air pressures into an equivalent set of partial differential equations, which are easily solved with standard mathematical formulas. It is shown that the present analytical solution can be degenerated into that of Terzaghi consolidation for fully saturated condition. The analytical solutions to 1‐D consolidation of an unsaturated soil subjected to instantaneous loading, ramp loading, and exponential loading, for different drainage conditions and initial pore pressure conditions, are summarized in tables for ease of use by practical engineers. In the case studies, the analytical results show good agreement with the available analytical solution in the literature. The consolidation behaviors of unsaturated soils are investigated. The average degree of consolidation at different loading patterns and drainage conditions is presented. The pore‐water pressure isochrones for two different drainage conditions and three initial pore pressure distributions are presented and discussed. Copyright © 2013 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.     

成层非饱和土渗流的耦合解析解

成层土在工程中很常见,研究降雨过程中成层非饱和土的渗流-变形耦合对非饱和土土力学的发展具有重要的意义。由流体质量守恒,Darcy定律和Lloret等的非饱和土本构模型可得成层非饱和土渗流-变形耦合的控制方程。采用Gardner的非饱和土的渗透系数公式以及Boltzman模型,基于Laplace变换得到耦合方程的解析解。解析及其参数分析表明,渗流和变形耦合是具有时间效应的。与吸力变化相关的土的模量F,对成层土的孔隙水压力分布有明显影响。两层土的F差异越大,孔隙水压力消散得越慢,耦合效应越不显著。增大表层土的F值有利于降低耦合效应。成层土饱和体积含水率变化对吸力变化产生有限的影响     

Analytical solution for one‐dimensional consolidation of unsaturated soils using eigenfunction expansion method

This paper introduces an exact analytical solution for governing flow equations for one‐dimensional consolidation in unsaturated soil stratum using the techniques of eigenfunction expansion and Laplace transformation. The homogeneous boundary conditions adopted in this study are as follows: (i) a one‐way drainage system of homogenous soils, in which the top surface is considered as permeable to air and water, whereas the base is an impervious bedrock; and (ii) a two‐way drainage system where both soil ends allow free dissipation of pore‐air and pore‐water pressures. In addition, the analytical development adopts initial conditions capturing both uniform and linear distributions of the initial excess pore pressures within the soil stratum. Eigenfunctions and eigenvalues are parts of the general solution and can be obtained based on the proposed boundary conditions. Besides, the Laplace transform method is adopted to solve the first‐order differential equations. Once equations with transformed domain are all obtained, the final solutions, which are proposed to be functions of time and depth, can be achieved by taking an inverse Laplace transform. To verify the proposed solution, two worked examples are provided to present the consolidation characteristics of unsaturated soils based on the proposed method. The validation of the recent results against other existing analytical solutions is graphically demonstrated. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

非饱和土毛细滞回与变形耦合弹塑性本构模型

在修正剑桥模型的基础上,提出了一个非饱和土毛细滞回与骨架变形耦合的弹塑性本构模型。该模型考虑了基质吸力与饱和度对屈服应力的影响,可以同时描述非饱和土的弹塑性变形特性与毛细循环滞回效应。根据塑性体变的产生使非饱和土进气值增大的特点,建立了变形对土-水特征曲线影响的数学描述。该模型有效地考虑了饱和度对前期屈服应力的作用,准确地反映了土体在不同土-水状态条件下（脱湿和吸湿过程）强度特性的变化,而且还可以有效地描述水力循环历史对土体变形的影响。通过与试验数据对比,证明了该模型能够模拟非饱和土的主要力学特性。     

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.     

非饱和土层一维固结特性分析

在Fredlund非饱和土的一维固结理论的基础上进行假设,由得出的液相及气相的控制方程、Darcy定律及Fick定律,采用Laplace 变换、逆变换等数学方法得到了大面积均布瞬时加载下表面为透水透气面、底面为不透水和不透气面的非饱和土层一维固结时间域内的超孔隙水压力、超孔隙气压力及土层沉降的解析解;应用典型算例,分析了不同气、水渗透系数比情况下土体超孔隙水压力、超孔隙气压力消散及土层沉降随时间的变化规律以及不同时间超孔隙水压力、超孔隙气压力消散随深度的变化规律。将得出的结果退化成相应的饱和土的解与太沙基饱和土固结理论结果比较,验证了其正确性。     

非饱和土渗流与变形耦合问题的有限元分析

基于多孔介质力学原理,建立能模拟非饱和土两相流动与变形耦合问题的理论模型。利用Galerkin法对控制方程进行离散,得到控制方程的有限元计算格式。在此基础上,自主开发了有限元计算程序U-DYSAC2,并对Liakopoulos两相流动试验这一经典算例以及重非亲水相流体（DNAPL）在饱和多孔介质中迁移的离心模型试验进行了数值模拟。计算结果表明,理论预测与试验结果基本吻合,验证了所提出的分析方法在模拟非饱和土渗流以及变形问题时的有效性,从而为定量研究饱和-非饱和渗流以及变形问题提供了一条有效途径。     

Exact solutions for one‐dimensional consolidation of single‐layer unsaturated soil

Based on the Fredlund consolidation theory of unsaturated soil, exact solutions of the governing equations for one‐dimensional consolidation of single‐layer unsaturated soil are presented, in which the water permeability and air transmission are assumed to be constants. The general solution of two coupled homogeneous governing equations is first obtained. This general solution is expressed in terms of two functions psi₁ and ψ₂, where ψ₁ and ψ₂, respectively, satisfy two second‐order partial differential equations, which are in the same form. Using the method of separation of variables, the two partial differential equations are solved and exact solutions for three typical homogeneous boundary conditions are obtained. To obtain exact solutions of nonhomogeneous governing equations with three typical nonhomogeneous boundary conditions, the nonhomogeneous boundary conditions are first transformed into homogeneous boundary conditions. Then according to the method of undetermined coefficients and exact solutions of homogenous governing equations, the series form exact solutions are put forward. The validity of the proposed exact solutions is verified against other analytical solutions in the literature. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New class of solutions for water infiltration problems in unsaturated soils

This paper presents the results of approximate analytical solutions to Richards' equation, which governs the problem of unsaturated flow in porous media. The existing methods generally fall within the category of numerical and analytical methods, often having many restrictions for practical situations. In the present study, two approximate analytical methods known as the differential transform method (DTM) and homotopy perturbation method (HPM) were employed to find analytical solutions to Richards' equation. The methods were found to be robust in finding solutions practically identical to those from the existing analytical and numerical methods. Two representative examples were considered in order to evaluate the accuracy of the solutions obtained by DTM and HPM, revealing high level of accuracy in both cases.     

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.     

Explicit integration of a porosity‐dependent hydro‐mechanical model for unsaturated soils

An adaptive substepping explicit integration scheme is developed for a porosity‐dependent hydro‐mechanical model for unsaturated soils. The model is referred to as the modified σ –Θ model in this paper, which features the employment of the subloading surface plasticity and the stress–saturation approach. On numerical aspects, convex/nonconvex subloading surfaces in the σ –Θ space may result in incorrect loading–unloading decisions during the integration. A new loading–unloading decision method is developed here to solve the problem and then embedded into the explicit integration scheme for the modified σ –Θ model. In addition, to enhance the accuracy of the explicit integration, local errors from both hydraulic and mechanical components are included in the error control for each substep. A drift correction method is also developed to ensure the state point lies on the subloading surface in the σ –Θ space within a set error level. The performance of the loading–unloading decision method for the modified σ –Θ model is discussed through comparing it with the conventional loading–unloading decision method. The importance of involving the hydraulic component in the error control is also demonstrated. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed adaptive substepping explicit integration scheme for the modified p–Θ model are also studied via several numerical examples. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Consolidation in spatially random unsaturated soils based on coupled flow‐deformation simulation

This paper integrates random field simulation of soil spatial variability with numerical modeling of coupled flow and deformation to investigate consolidation in spatially random unsaturated soil. The spatial variability of soil properties is simulated using the covariance matrix decomposition method. The random soil properties are imported into an interactive multiphysics software COMSOL to solve the governing partial differential equations. The effects of the spatial variability of Young's modulus and saturated permeability together with unsaturated hydraulic parameters on the dissipation of excess pore water pressure and settlement are investigated using an example of consolidation in a saturated‐unsaturated soil column because of loading. It is found that the surface settlement and the pore water pressure profile during the process of consolidation are significantly affected by the spatially varying Young's modulus. The mean value of the settlement of the spatially random soil is more than 100% greater than that of the deterministic case, and the surface settlement is subject to large uncertainty, which implies that consolidation settlement is difficult to predict accurately based on the conventional deterministic approach. The uncertainty of the settlement increases with the scale of fluctuation because of the averaging effect of spatial variability. The effects of spatial variability of saturated permeability k_sat and air entry parameters are much less significant than that of elastic modulus. The spatial variability of air entry value parameters affects the uncertainties of settlement and excess pore pressure mostly in the unsaturated zone. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microstructural deformation mechanisms of unsaturated granular soils

A discrete model for unsaturated granular soils has been developed. Three discrete entities have been defined: particles, water menisci and pores. Local interaction forces and water transfer mechanisms have been integrated into a model through the appropriate equilibrium and balance equations. The results of several numerical tests using this model have been described and discussed. Simulations include wetting and drying under load tests, the application of suction cycles and the effect of a deviatoric stress ratio on wetting‐induced collapse. The model reacts just as true granular soil samples behave in laboratory tests. The model provides a new insight into the internal mechanisms leading to large‐scale features of behaviour such as wetting‐induced collapse or the increase in soil strength provided by suction. The paper also stresses that matric suction changes acting on a granular structure are capable of explaining most of the macroscopic features of stress–strain behaviour. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analytical 3D transient elastodynamic fundamental solution of unsaturated soils

Unsaturated soils are considered as porous continua, composed of porous skeleton with its pores filled by water and air. The governing partial differential equations (PDE) are derived based on the mechanics for isothermal and infinitesimal evolution of unsaturated porous media in terms of skeleton displacement vector, liquid, and gas scalar pressures. Meanwhile, isotropic linear elastic behavior and liquid retention curve are presented in terms of net stress and capillary pressure as constitutive relations. Later, an explicit 3D Laplace transform domain fundamental solution is obtained for governing PDE and then closed‐form analytical transient 3D fundamental solution is presented by means of analytical inverse Laplace transform technique. Finally, a numerical example is presented to validate the assumptions used to derive the analytical solution by comparing them with the numerically inverted ones. The transient fundamental solutions represent important features of the elastic wave propagation theory in the unsaturated soils. Copyright © 2010 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.     

Analytical solutions for the consolidation of unsaturated foundation with prefabricated vertical drain

Based on the consolidation theory raised by Fredlund, the solutions for the equal-strain consolidation of unsaturated foundation with the prefabricated vertical drain considering smear effect and drain resistance are analytically formulated in this paper. Firstly, governing equations for excess pore pressures (i.e., excess pore-air and pore-water pressures) under the equal-strain hypothesis are derived with the introduction of radial boundary conditions. Afterwards, the obtained coupled equations are solved by applying general integration, decoupling process, and Fourier sine series expansion. The smear coefficients and factors of drain resistance corresponding to air and water phases are both captured explicitly in the final solutions. Furthermore, the degenerated solutions are employed to verify the reliability of the current solutions. Finally, a parametric study is conducted to study the consolidation characteristics of the proposed foundation model against modeling sizes (S and N), smear coefficients (α_a and α_w), and drain resistance factors (G_a and G_w).