Multiphase FEM Modeling of Infiltration Processes in Cohesionless Soils

Abstract

The aim of this work is to develop a continuum multiphase model to describe infiltration processes for cohesionless soils. For this purpose, a Representative Volume Element (RVE) is considered and described by the continuum mixture theory extended by the concept of volume fractions (Theory of Porous Media – TPM). The thermodynamically consistent TPM is a macroscopical multiphase modeling approach, extended from classical single‐phase continuum mechanics. Futhermore a 1‐dim example for an infiltration problem is presented. (© 2012 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)