The analysis of dynamic transient phenomena in fluid saturated porous media is of great interest in geophysics and geotechnical engineering. Fluid saturation of an inviscid porous solid skeleton introduces a time dependence into the response to applied loads. Biot first established the general field equations governing the transient response of the porous media.
In this paper, the finite element analysis of Biot theory is performed to study the response of earth dam subjected to an earthquake loading. Matrix equations of motion are integrated step by step in time by α method to achieve an optimal balance between effective numerical dissipation and loss of accuracy. Drucker-Prager model which represent soil skeleton constitutive relations are also used.
The objective of this investigation is to properly estimate the distribution of fluid pressures and intergranular stresses developed in an earth dam. An earth dam is analyzed for a specific earthquake and the results show that the proposed approximate simulation of the nonlinear dynamic behavior of an earth dam is appropriate. Finally, a few general remarks are made in a qualitative manner and several recommendations are made for the further research.
