Perturbation growth and localization in fluid-saturated inelastic porous media under quasi-static loadings

Instabilities in inelastic saturated porous media are investigated here for general three-dimensional states under quasi-static loadings using a perturbation approach and focussing in particular on the two limiting cases of the onset of growth and of blowing up of perturbations. For associative flow rules for the skeleton, both onset of growth and blowing up of perturbations depend only on the underlying drained properties. Unbounded growth is obtained when the condition of localization for the underlying drained deformation (singularity of the drained acoustic tensor) is approached or just passed. Onset of growth has always a divergence growth character and critical conditions' are always associated to the shortwavelength regime leading to the fact that the failure mode is expected to be a localized one. For non-associative behaviour of the skeleton we show in contrast that the onset of growth and unbounded growth may be defined either by the drained or undrained properties. One or the other depends on the details of the constitutive behaviour but also on the type of loadings. In particular, unbounded growth occurs when either the condition of localization under drained or undrained conditions. is,first passed. Transition from,decaying to growing behaviour may have a divergence character or flutter-type character. Here the critical conditions are associated either to the, shortwavelength or to the longwavelength regimes and therefore the failure mode may be localized or diffuse.