A stabilized iterative scheme for coupled hydro-mechanical systems using reproducing kernel particle method

In this paper, a novel iterative coupling scheme is developed for solving coupled hydro-mechanical problems using reproducing kernel particle method. The numerical scheme calls the fluid and the solid solvers sequentially and iteratively until convergent solutions are obtained. To overcome the numerical instability problem, a simple stabilization technique is developed and proved to be unconditionally stable through stability analysis. The accuracy and convergence of the proposed numerical scheme are demonstrated through extensive parametric studies of one-dimensional and two-dimensional consolidation simulations using fully saturated elastic medium as well as biaxial test using a fully nonlinear soil model. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.