Exact solutions for the one-dimensional transient response of unsaturated single-layer porous media

The one-dimensional transient response of unsaturated single-layer porous media is studied based on the theory of unsaturated porous media proposed by Zienkiewicz et al., and exact time-domain solutions are obtained for three types of nonhomogeneous boundary conditions. During the solution procedure, the nonhomogeneous boundary conditions are transformed into homogeneous boundary conditions. Then, the eigenfunction expansion method is utilised to obtain the exact solutions for these new boundary conditions. Several numerical examples are provided to investigate the propagation of compressional waves, and it is verified that three types of compressional waves exist in unsaturated porous media that contain two immiscible fluids.