Impact of Source Modelling and Poroelastic Models on Numerical Modelling of Unconsolidated Granular Media: Application at the Laboratory Scale

Abstract

The near surface is characterized by using different numerical techniques, among them seismic techniques that are non-destructive. More particularly, for a better understanding of acoustic and seismic measurements in unconsolidated granular media that can constitute the near surface, many studies have been conducted in situ and also at the laboratory scale where theoretical models have been developed. In this article, we want to model such granular media that are difficult to characterize. At the laboratory scale, dry granular media can be modelled with a homogenized power-law elastic model that depends on depth. In this context, we validate numerically a similar power-law elastic model for such media by applying it to a homogenized elastic medium or to the solid frame of a poroelastic medium that consists of solid and air components. By comparing the response of both rheologies, we want to highlight what poroelastic media can bring to better reproduce the experimental data in the time and frequency domains. To achieve this objective, we revisit studies carried out on unconsolidated granular media at the laboratory scale and we compare different models with different rheologies (elastic or poroelastic), dimensions (2D or 3D), boundary conditions (perfectly matched layer/PML, or Dirichlet) and locations of the source (modelled as a vibratory stick or a point force) in order to reproduce the experimental data. We show here that a poroelastic model describes better the amplitudes of the seismograms. Furthermore, we study the sensitivity of the seismic data to the source location, which is crucial to improve the amplitude of the signals and the detection of the different seismic modes.