The MLPG Applied to Porous Materials with Variable Stiffness and Permeability

Two-dimensional (2-d) and axisymmetric consolidation problems are treated with a meshless local Petrov–Galerkin approach. The porous continuum is modeled with Biot’s theory, where the solid displacements and the pore pressure are chosen as unknowns (u-p-formulation). These unknowns are approximated with independent spatial discretizations using the moving least-squares scheme. The method is validated by a comparison with an 1-d analytical solution. Studies with graded material data show that a variable permeability has a strong influence on the consolidation process. The example of a disturbed zone around a borehole shows as well the importance of graded material data.