Axisymmetric BEM analysis of layered elastic halfspace with volcano-shaped mantle and cavity under internal gas pressure

Abstract

This paper presents an axisymmetric BEM analysis of layered elastic halfspace with volcano-shaped mantle and cavity under internal gas pressure. The problem is of interest to understand the behavior of volcanoes, tectonic earthquakes and other oil and gas reservoirs. The volcano-shaped mantle ground topography and the internal spherical or ellipsoidal cavity are added to the conventional model of layered halfspace. The analysis uses the axisymmetric boundary element method (BEM) associated with the fundamental solution of a multilayered elastic fullspace subject to the concentrated ring-body force. The BEM is further verified for its high efficiency and accuracy by comparing its result with the analytical and FEM solutions for the problem of a homogeneous elastic halfspace whose spherical cavity is under internal pressure. The BEM is used to examine the effect of the volcano-shaped mantle, the cavity shape, the layered material properties and the internal pressure on the elastic behavior of the halfspace under the internal pressure loading within the cavity. The displacements and stresses at the external and internal boundaries and within the layered halfspace are presented and analyzed in detail. The presence of the volcano-shaped mantle can reduce significantly the swelling ground movement induced by the expansive pressure in the cavity in the layered halfspace. The cavity shape can have significant effect to the location and magnitude of the maximum tensile principal hoop stress on the cavity surface induced by its internal pressure.