On the Formation of Discontinuities of Wave Fronts in a Saturated Granular Body

The paper deals with propagation of plane wave fronts in a solid with a non-linear relation between stress and deformation. The objective is to calculate the distance that a wave front covers before it loses continuity. The formulae derived for a general quasi-linear system of two equations are applied to the propagation of plane compression waves in dry and partially saturated granular bodies. In the case of a saturated body with gas bubbles, the influence of gas and capillary pressure on the stiffness of the body is taken into account. Numerical calculations relevant to soil mechanics are presented. For the numerical calculations a constitutive equation of the hypoplasticity theory for granular materials has been used. Received November 1, 1997