Poroelasticity

Poroelasticity is a field in material science that studies the interaction between fluid flow and solids deformation within a linear porous medium and it is an extension of elasticity and porous medium flow (diffusion equation). The deformation of the medium influences the flow of the fluid and vice versa. The theory was proposed by Biot (1935, 1941) as a theoretical extension of soil consolidation models developed to calculate the settlement of structures placed on fluid-saturated porous soils. The theory of poroelasticity has been widely applied in geomechanics,hydrology,biomechanics, tissue mechanics and micromechanics.

An intuitive sense of the response of a saturated elastic porous medium to mechanical loading can be developed by thinking about, or experimenting with, a fluid-saturated sponge. If a fluid- saturated sponge is compressed, fluid will flow from the sponge. If the sponge is in a fluid reservoir and compressive pressure is subsequently removed, the sponge will reimbibe the fluid and expand. The volume of the sponge will also increase if its exterior openings are sealed and the pore fluid pressure is increased. The basic ideas underlying the theory of poroelastic mate- rials are that the pore fluid pressure contributes to the total stress in the porous matrix medium and that the pore fluid pressure alone can strain the porous matrix medium. There is fluid movement in a porous medium due to differences in pore fluid pressure created by different pore volume strains associated with mechanical loading of the porous medium.

Some of the helpful references to studying theory of poroelasticity are Fundamentals of Poroelasticity, Poroelasticity, Theory of linear poroelasticity with applications to geomechanics and hydrogeology.

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