Theoretical model for fluid-solid coupling in porous materials

This paper introduces a unifying theory for describing complex behavior for porous materials. The key ingredients are the stored energy in solid-fluid interaction as well as the solid-solid and fluid-fluid interactions. A finite element formulation is employed which naturally accounts for the pore-pore network effects and is easily applicable to most pore geometries such as cellular solids and foams. The interactions, built in at the finite element level, give rise to the mechanical response of the macroscopic material unit. Through numerical studies, we show that there is strong coupling between fluid and solid that induces complex mechanical response, i.e., hysteresis and anisotropy. It is demonstrated that hysteresis arises directly from the fluid-solid coupling. We term this type of hysteresis emergent hysteresis.