A fully coupled dynamic model for two-phase fluid flow in deformable porous media

A fully coupled dynamic model is presented for the analysis of water and air flow in deforming porous media, in fully or partially saturated conditions. The solid displacements and the pressures of fluids are taken as primary unknowns of the model. The finite element method is used for the discrete approximation of the partial differential equations governing the problem. The mathematical framework and the numerical implementation of the model are given in detail and the adopted approximations are put into evidence. First the model is validated with respect to documented experiments on partially saturated soil behaviour in quasi-static condition. Then the results of a full dynamic analysis are shown and discussed. In this paper. merits and drawbacks of the proposed model are highlighted. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.