A half-space saturated poroelastic medium subject to a moving point load

Abstract

In this paper, an analytical solution for the dynamic response of a half-space porous medium subjected to a moving point load is derived. In the model, the displacements of the solid skeleton and the pore pressure are expressed in terms of two scalar potentials and one vectorial potential. Based on Biot’s theory, the frequency domain Holmholtz equations for the potentials are derived through the Fourier transformation with respect to time. The general solutions for the potentials are derived through the Fourier transformation with respect to the horizontal coordinates. Numerical results suggest that moving loads have very complicated effects on the dynamic response of the porous medium. Generally speaking, a moving load with a high speed will generate a larger response in the porous medium than a static or a lower speed load.