A Micropolar Theory of Porous Media: Constitutive Modelling

The extension of the classical mixture theory by the concept of volume fractions leads to the theory of porous media. In this article, the theory of porous media is generalised to micropolar constituents. The kinematic relations and the balance equations for a porous medium are developed without restricting the number of constituents. Based on the entropy inequality, the general form of the constitutive equations are derived for a binary medium consisting of a porous elastic skeleton saturated by a viscous pore-fluid. Both constituents are assumed to be compressible. Handling the saturation constraint by a Lagrangian multiplier leads to a compatibility of the proposed model to so-called hybrid and incompressible models.     

Saturated Compressible and Incompressible Porous Solids: Macro- and Micromechanical Approaches

In this paper two complementary approaches are used to describe the mechanical behavior of saturated compressible and incompressible porous solids. The macroscopic investigation is based on the mixture theory, restricted by the volume fraction concept. In the micromechanical approach, a hierarchy of conditionally ensemble averaged fluid and solid phase momentum balance equations are derived for a simple model of quasi-static liquid saturated porous media. The ensemble averaged equations for both the phases agree remarkably well with the macroscopic results. A micromechanical basis for Terzhagi's effective stress concept is presented. In addition, an expression for additional partial solid stress modifying the effective stress principle, to account for deformability of solid materials, is also derived.     

Saturated Elastic Porous Solids: Incompressible,Compressible and Hybrid Binary Models

Constitutive models for a general binary elastic-porous media are investigated by two complementary approaches. These models include both constituents treated as compressible/incompressible, a compressible solid phase with an incompressible fluid phase (hybrid model of first type), and an incompressible solid phase with a compressible fluid phase (hybrid model of second type). The macroscopic continuum mechanical approach uses evaluation of entropy inequality with the saturation condition always considered as a constraint. This constraint leads to an interface pressure acting in both constituents. Two constitutive equations for the interface pressure, one for each phase, are identified, thus closing the set of field equations. The micromechanical approach shows that the results of Didwania and de Boer can be easily extended to general binary porous media.     

A Local Model for the Energy Transfer in a Saturated Static Mixture

In the present work the transient energy transfer in a nonsaturated porous medium is studied, using a mixture theory viewpoint. The porous matrix is assumed homogeneous, rigid and isotropic, while the fluid is a Newtonian incompressible one and both are assumed static. Since the homogeneous matrix is not saturated, gradients of concentration are present. The porous medium and the fluid (a liquid) will be regarded as continuous constituents of a mixture that will have also a third constituent, an inert gas, assumed with zero mass density and thermal conductivity. The problem is described by a set of two partial differential equations which represent the energy balances for the fluid and the solid constituents. Isovalues for these two constituents are plotted, considering representative time instants and selected values for the energy equations coefficients and for the saturation.     

The constitutive equations of finite strain poroelasticity in the light of a micro-macro approach

After recalling the constitutive equations of finite strain poroelasticity formulated at the macroscopic level, we adopt a microscopic point of view which consists of describing the fluid-saturated porous medium at a space scale on which the fluid and solid phases are geometrically distinct. The constitutive equations of poroelasticity are recovered from the analysis conducted on a representative elementary volume of porous material open to fluid mass exchange. The procedure relies upon the solution of a boundary value problem defined on the solid domain of the representative volume undergoing large elastic strains. The macroscopic potential, computed as the integral of the free energy density over the solid domain, is shown to depend on the macroscopic deformation gradient and the porous space volume as relevant variables. The corresponding stress-type variables obtained through the differentiation of this potential turn out to be the macroscopic Boussinesq stress tensor and the pore pressure. Furthermore, such a procedure makes it possible to establish the necessary and sufficient conditions to ensure the validity of an ‘effective stress’ formulation of the constitutive equations of finite strain poroelasticity. Such conditions are notably satisfied in the important case of an incompressible solid matrix.     

Constitutive equation of a gas-filled two-phase medium

A set of equations governing the consolidation of a two-phase medium consisting of a porous elastic skeleton saturated with a highly compressible liquid (gas), is described. The homogenization method was utilized to deduce the equations. For the equivalent macroscopic medium, mass and momentum conservation equations and the flow equation of pore liquid are presented. Sample material constants were calculated using laboratory test results which were carried out at the Institute of Geotechnics, Technical University of Wroclaw.     

Contributions to Theoretical/Experimental Developments in Shock Waves Propagation in Porous Media

Macroscopic balance equations of mass, momentum and energy for compressible Newtonian fluids within a thermoelastic solid matrix are developed as the theoretical basis for wave motion in multiphase deformable porous media. This leads to the rigorous development of the extended Forchheimer terms accounting for the momentum exchange between the phases through the solid-fluid interfaces. An additional relation presenting the deviation (assumed of a lower order of magnitude) from the macroscopic momentum balance equation, is also presented. Nondimensional investigation of the phases' macroscopic balance equations, yield four evolution periods associated with different dominant balance equations which are obtained following an abrupt change in fluid's pressure and temperature. During the second evolution period, the inertial terms are dominant. As a result the momentum balance equations reduce to nonlinear wave equations. Various analytical solutions of these equations are described for the 1-D case. Comparison with literature and verification with shock tube experiments, serve as validation of the developed theory and the computer code.A 1-D TVD-based numerical study of shock wave propagation in saturated porous media, is presented. A parametric investigation using the developed computer code is also given.     

Important aspects in the formulation of solid–fluid debris-flow models. Part I. Thermodynamic implications

This article points at some critical issues which are connected with the theoretical formulation of the thermodynamics of solid–fluid mixtures of frictional materials. It is our view that a complete thermodynamic exploitation of the second law of thermodynamics is necessary to obtain the proper parameterizations of the constitutive quantities in such theories. These issues are explained in detail in a recently published book by Schneider and Hutter (Solid–Fluid Mixtures of Frictional Materials in Geophysical and Geotechnical Context, 2009), which we wish to advertize with these notes. The model is a saturated mixture of an arbitrary number of solid and fluid constituents which may be compressible or density preserving, which exhibit visco-frictional (visco-hypoplastic) behavior, but are all subject to the same temperature. Mass exchange between the constituents may account for particle size separation and phase changes due to fragmentation and abrasion. Destabilization of a saturated soil mass from the pre- and the post-critical phases of a catastrophic motion from initiation to deposition is modeled by symmetric tensorial variables which are related to the rate independent parts of the constituent stress tensors.     

A linear dynamic model for a saturated porous medium

A linear isothermal dynamic model for a porous medium saturated by a Newtonian fluid is developed in the paper. In contrast to the mixture theory, the assumption of phase separation is avoided by introducing a single constitutive energy function for the porous medium. An important advantage of the proposed model is it can account for the couplings between the solid skeleton and the pore fluid. The mass and momentum balance equations are obtained according to the generalized mixture theory. Constitutive relations for the stress, the pore pressure are derived from the total free energy accounting for inter-phase interaction. In order to describe the momentum interaction between the fluid and the solid, a frequency independent Biot-type drag force model is introduced. A temporal variable porosity model with relaxation accounting for additional attenuation is introduced for the first time. The details of parameter estimation are discussed in the paper. It is demonstrated that all the material parameters in our model can be estimated from directly measurable phenomenological parameters. In terms of the equations of motion in the frequency domain, the wave velocities and the attenuations for the two P waves and one S wave are calculated. The influences of the porosity relaxation coefficient on the velocities and attenuation coefficients of the three waves of the porous medium are discussed in a numerical example.     

Numerical Simulation of Drying of a Saturated Deformable Porous Media by the Lattice Boltzmann Method

A numerical study is reported here to investigate the drying of saturated deformable porous rectangular plate based on the Darcy–Brinkman extended model. All walls of the plate are maintained to a convective heat flux as well as the top and bottom faces are also subjected to a mass flux. The model for the energy transport is based on the local thermodynamic equilibrium between the fluid and the solid phases. The lattice Boltzmann method is used for solving the governing differential equations system. A comprehensive analysis of the influence of the Poisson’s coefficient, the Young’s modulus and the permeability on macroscopic fields is investigated throughout this work.     

Shock waves in saturated thermoelastic porous media

The objective of this paper is to develop and present the macroscopic motion equations for the fluid and the solid matrix, in the case of a saturated porous medium, in the form of coupled, nonlinear wave equations for the fluid and solid velocities. The nonlinearity in the equations enables the generation of shock waves. The complete set of equations required for determining phase velocities in the case of a thermoelastic solid matrix, includes also the energy balance equation for the porous medium as a whole, as well as mass balance equations for the two phase. In the special case of a rigid solid matrix, the wave after an abrupt change in pressure propagates only through the fluid.     

Scattered fracture of porous materials with brittle skeleton

A model of damage accumulation in a porous medium with a brittle skeleton saturated with a compressible fluid is formulated in the isothermal approximation. The model takes account of the skeleton elastic energy transformation into the surface energy of microcracks. In the case of arbitrary deformations of an anisotropic material, constitutive equations are obtained in a general form that is necessary and sufficient for the objectivity and thermodynamic consistency principles to be satisfied. We also formulate the kinetics equation ensuring that the scattered fracture dissipation is nonnegative for any loading history. For small deviations from the initial state, we propose an elastic potential which permits describing the principal characteristics of the behavior of a saturated porous medium with a brittle skeleton. We study the acoustic properties of the material under study and find their relationship with the strength criterion depending on the accumulated damage and the material current deformation. We consider the problem of scattered fracture of a saturated porous material in a neighborhood of a spherical cavity. We show that the cavity failure occurs if the Hadamard condition is violated.     

A variational approach for the deformation of a saturated porous solid. A second-gradient theory extending Terzaghi's effective stress principle

Summary The principle of virtual power is used to derive the equilibrium field equations of a porous solid saturated with a fluid, including second density-gradient effects; the intention is the elucidation and extension of the effective stress principle of Terzaghi and Fillunger. In the context of a first density-gradient theory for a saturated solid we interpret the porewater pressure as a Lagrange multiplier in the expression for the deformation energy, assuring that the saturation constraint is verified. We prove that this saturation pressure is distributed among the constituents according to their respective volume fraction (Delesse law) only if they are both true density-preserving. We generalize the Delesse law to the case of compressible constituents. If a material-dependent effective stress contribution is to arise, it is, in general, nonvanishing simultaneously in both the solid and fluid constituents. Moreover, saturation pressure, effective stresses and compressibility constitutive equations determine the exchange volume forces. In a theoretical formulation without non-isotropic strain measures, second density-gradient effects must be incorporated, not only to accommodate for the equilibrium-solid-shear stress and the interaction among neighboring solid-matrix pores, but also to describe internal capillarity effects. The earlier are accounted for by a dependence of the thermodynamic energy upon the density-gradient of the solid, while the latter derives from a mixed density-gradient dependence. Examples illustrate the necessity of these higher gradient effects for properly posed boundary value problems describing the mechanical behaviour of the disturbed rock zone surrounding salt caverns. In particular, we show that solid second-gradient strains allow for the definition of the concept of static permeability, which is distinct from the dynamic Darcy permeability. Received 1 February 1999; accepted for publication 9 March 1999     

Important aspects in the formulation of solid–fluid debris-flow models. Part II. Constitutive modelling

This article points at some critical issues which are connected with the theoretical formulation of the thermodynamics of solid–fluid mixtures of frictional materials. It is our view that a complete thermodynamic exploitation of the second law of thermodynamics is necessary to obtain the proper parameterizations of the constitutive quantities in such theories. These issues are explained in detail in a recently published book by Schneider and Hutter (Solid–Fluid Mixtures of Frictional Materials in Geophysical and Geotechnical Context, 2009), which we wish to advertize with these notes. The model is a saturated mixture of an arbitrary number of solid and fluid constituents which may be compressible or density preserving, which exhibit visco-frictional (visco-hypoplastic) behavior, but are all subject to the same temperature. Mass exchange between the constituents may account for particle size separation and phase changes due to fragmentation and abrasion. Destabilization of a saturated soil mass from the pre- and the post-critical phases of a catastrophic motion from initiation to deposition is modeled by symmetric tensorial variables which are related to the rate independent parts of the constituent stress tensors.     

Effect of Variable Viscosity on Free Convective Heat Transfer over a Non-isothermal Body of Arbitrary Shape in a Non-Newtonian Fluid Saturated Porous Medium with Internal Heat Generation

Similarity solutions are proposed for the analysis of free convection flow over a non-isothermal body of arbitrary shape embedded in porous media in the presence of internal heat generation. The porous medium is saturated with non-Newtonian power law fluid. The effect of temperature dependent viscosity on heat transfer rates is investigated. The linearized version of the Arrhenius law for temperature dependent viscosity is considered and it is shown that the heat transferred is more for a less viscous fluid.     

Formulation of a finite deformation model for the dynamic response of open cell biphasic media

The paper illustrates a biphasic formulation which addresses the dynamic response of fluid saturated porous biphasic media at finite deformations with no restriction on the compressibility of the fluid and of the solid skeleton. The proposed model exploits four state fields of purely kinematic nature: the displacements of the solid phase, the velocity of the fluid, the density of the fluid and an additional macroscopic scalar field, termed effective Jacobian, associated with the effective volumetric deformation of the solid phase.The governing equations are characterized by the property of being all expressed in the reference configuration of the solid phase and by the property of employing only work-conjugate variables, thus avoiding the use of a total Cauchy stress tensor.In particular, the set of governing equations includes a momentum balance equation associated with the effective Jacobian field. This equation, differently from the closure-equations proposed by other authors which express a saturation constraint or a porosity balance, is derived as a stationarity condition on account of a least-action variational principle.     

Material instabilities of anisotropic saturated multiphase porous media

This paper analyses the material instability of fully saturated multiphase porous media. On account of the fact that anisotropic mechanical behaviours are widely observed in saturated and partially saturated geomaterials, the anisotropic constitutive model developed by Rudnicki for geomaterials is used to model the anisotropic mechanical behaviour of the solid skeleton of saturated porous geomaterials in axisymmetric compression test. The inertial coupling effect between solid skeleton and pore fluid is also taken into account in dynamic cases. Conditions for static instability (strain localisation) and dynamic instability (stationary discontinuity and flutter instability) of fully saturated porous media are derived. The critical modulus, shear band angle for strain localisation, and the bound within which flutter instability may occur are given in explicit forms. The effects of material parameters on material instability are investigated in detail by numerical computations.     

TEMPERATURE PROFILES OF LOCAL THERMAL NONEQUILIBRIUM FOR THERMAL DEVELOPING FORCED CONVECTION IN POROUS MEDIUM PARALLEL PLATE CHANNEL

Based on the two-energy equation model, taking into account viscous dissipation due to the interaction between solid skeleton and pore fluid flow, temperature expressions of the solid skeleton and pore fluid flow are obtained analytically for the thermally developing forced convection in a saturated porous medium parallel plate channel, with walls being at constant temperature. It is proved that the temperatures of the two phases for the local thermal nonequilibrium approach to the temperature derived from the one-energy equation model for the local thermal equilibrium when the heat exchange coefficient goes to infinite. The temperature profiles are shown in figures for different dimensionless parameters and the effects of the parameters on the local thermal nonequilibrium are revealed by parameter study.