Numerical Laplace‐Fourier transform inversion technique for layered‐soil consolidation problems: I. Fundamental solutions and validation

A numericl method for solving consolidation problems of layered soils is developed. Starting from the governing differential equations for the coupled poro‐elastic medium, the governing partial differential equations are reduced to ordinary differential equations by means of the appropriate displacement functions and Laplace‐Fourier transformation. Once the fundamental solution in the transformed domain has been found, the solution in the physical domain is obtained by numerically inverting the transformations. A series of soil consolidation problems have been solved and validated against existing solutions in order to compare the feasibility and the accuracy of the present technique.