Problem of the consolidation of a laterally loaded radially-drained poroelastic cylinder

Summary In this article, we solve a canonical problem of the consolidation of a laterally loaded radiallydrained poroelastic cylinder by the series expansion method, or Fourier method. This method is simpler and more intuitive than the widely used Laplace transform technique because it does not require inversion of the Laplace transformed solution. Time evolution of the fluid pressure and volumetric strain is examined and, in addition, an upper bound on the pressure overshoot, occurring during the consolidation, is obtained for the loaded cylinder and sphere.