Use of coupled finite element analysis in unsaturated soil problems

This paper presents a variation of Blot's consolidation theory for analysin g problems involving unsaturated soils, and implemented using the finite el ement method. The numerical method is applied to a few geotechnical problem s as examples and the results obtained are compared to some published data. The illustrative examples show how the numerical method can be used to ana lyse seepage and consolidation problems associated with unsaturated soils a nd demonstrate the flexibility and applicability of the presented method. C opyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.