Parallel 3-d simulations for porous media models in soil mechanics

Abstract

 Numerical simulations in 3-d for porous media models in soil mechanics are a difficult task for the engineering modelling as well as for the numerical realization. Here, we present a general numerical scheme for the simulation of two-phase models in combination with an abstract material model via the stress response with a specialized parallel saddle point solver. Therefore, we give a brief introduction into the theoretical background of the Theory of Porous Media and constitute a two-phase model consisting of a porous solid skeleton saturated by a viscous pore-fluid. The material behaviour of the skeleton is assumed to be elasto-viscoplastic. The governing equations are transfered to a weak formulation suitable for the application of the finite element method. Introducing an abstract formulation in terms of the stress response, we define a clear interface between the assembling process and the parallel solver modules. We demonstrate the efficiency of this approach by challenging numerical experiments realized on the Linux Cluster in Chemnitz.