Abstract
In the present work, stationary discontinuities and fluttery instabilities of wave propagation in saturated poro‐elastoplastic media are analysed in the frame of Biot theory. The generalized Biot formulations are particularly employed for simulating non‐linear coupled hydro‐mechanical behaviour of the media. Inertial coupling effect between the solid and the fluid phases of the media is also taken into account. The non‐associated Drucker–Prager criterion to describe non‐linear constitutive behaviour of pressure dependent elasto‐plasticity for the solid skeleton of the media is particularly considered. With omission of compressibility of solid grains and the pore fluid, the critical conditions of stationary discontinuities and flutter instabilities occurring in wave propagation are given in explicit forms. It is shown that when the stationary discontinuity is triggered at the surface of discontinuity there still may exist real wave speeds. The wave speeds across the stationary discontinuity surface entirely cease to be real only in non‐associated plasticity, certain ranges of value of Poisson's ratio and when compression stress normal to the surface of discontinuity dominates the stress state at the surface. It is also indicated that the fluttery instabilities, under which some wave speeds cease to be real even in strain hardening stage, may occur prior to stationary discontinuities only for non‐associated plasticity under certain conditions. These conditions are: (1) both the porosity and the Poisson's ratio possess relatively low values and (2) the deviatoric part of the effective stress normal to the surface of discontinuity is compressive. A region in the porosity–Poisson's ratio plot, in which fluttery instabilities are possible to occur, is given. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.