Wave Propagation in Viscoelastic and Poroelastic Continua

Wave propagation in poroelastic and viscoelastic solids treated by the Boundary Element method in time domain is the topic of this research book. A novel boundary element formulation has been presented based on the Convolution Quadrature Method. Because in this time-stepping formulation only Laplace domain fundamental solutions are needed this method can be effectively applied to a plenty of problems, e.g., anisotropic or transversely isotropic continua. So, this method combines the advantage of the Laplace domain with the advantage of a time domain calculation. Here, wave propagation phenomenon in viscoelastic as well as poroelastic half spaces are considered. The Rayleigh wave as well as the slow compressional wave in the poroelastic solid is discussed.In this book, a numerical method to treat wave propagation problems in poroelastic and viscoelastic media is developed and evaluated. The method of choice is the Boundary Element Method (BEM) since this method implicitly fulfills the Sommerfeld radiation condition. The crucial point in any time-dependent BEM formulation finding time-dependent fundamental solutions is overcome employing the Convolution Quadrature Method. This quadrature rule makes it possible to establish a boundary element time-stepping procedure based on the known Laplace domain fundamental solutions for viscoelastic and poroelastic continua. Using this method, e.g., tremors produced by earthquakes or machines can be pre-calculated and subsequent buildings prevented from such disturbances.