Revisiting the constitutive equations of unsaturated porous solids using a Lagrangian saturation concept

Abstract

This paper aims at revisiting the constitutive equations of unsaturated porous solids at the light of a Lagrangian saturation concept. By referring the currently wetted porous volume to the reference configuration, the Lagrangian saturation is the state variable associated with the interfacial energy changes only, irrespective of the elastic energy required for deforming the solid matrix. The Lagrangian saturation concept provides the basis of a generic approach to the theory of poroelastoplasticity in unsaturated conditions. We successively examine the case where the saturating fluids occupy disconnected networks and the case where the networks are connected so that the saturating fluids can invade the porous solid or recede from it. The analysis provides be restricted situations where the averaged pore pressure may play the role of an effective pore pressure. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.