Coupled approach in simulation of soil consolidation

The aim of this paper is to present a mathematical framework and its corresponding coupled finite element discretization for fully saturated porous media. The model is developed as a coupled displacement‐pressure formulation in which the porous medium is composed of a soil skeleton and water in the pores. The considered problem in this paper is the consolidation of a saturated soil layer subjected to uniform pressure at the top. The coupled mathematical model addressed in this work considers both drained and undrained boundary conditions in the consolidation problem. The consequent mathematical model involves equations of mass and momentum balance for the whole system. Interesting outcomes are achieved from the numerical simulation and results are discussed thoroughly.