Project:  An Analytical and Numerical Study of Granular Materials in the Light of Modern Theories of Porous Media

PI(s):  Pedro Arduino

Sponsor:  University of Washington

Objective:  To predict the behavior of saturated granular materials.

Research Approach:   The mechanical behavior of saturated geomaterials is largely governed by the interaction of the solid skeleton with the fluids present in the pore structure. This interaction is particularly strong in dynamic problems and may lead to catastrophic loss of strength known as liquefaction which frequently occurs under earthquake loading. To account for the realistic behavior a multi-phase theory becomes necessary. In this work the governing equations of a porous media interacting with immiscible porous fluids are derived in the light of the theory of mixtures. A generalized Galerkin procedure is devised to establish the coupled mixed finite element equations. An unconditionally stable implicit solution procedure is used for the time domain numerical solution. Examples of saturated granular deposits under transient loads are presented to illustrate the performance and capabilities of the proposed solution.

For more information send E-Mail to: parduino@u.washington.edu