A medium-independent variational macroscopic theory of two-phase porous media – Part II: Applications to isotropic media and stress partitioning. Bridging the gap between Biot's and Terzaghi's perspectives

Overview & Synopsis

Stress partitioning in multiphase porous media is a fundamental problem of solid mechanics , yet not completely understood: no unanimous agreement has been reached on the formulation of a stress partitioning law encompassing all observed experimental evidences in two-phase media, and on the range of applicability of such a law. A most celebrated stress partitioning law, based on the notion of 'effective stress', is known as 'Terzaghi's principle'. However, while there is agreement on its reliability in describing the behaviour of soils and soft hydrated biological tissues, experimental observations on certain porous media have been generally interpreted as deviations from such law. The objective of this study is to perform an analysis on the range of applicability of the notions of effective stress and effective stress principles. This is carried out employing a