Abstract: | A numerical procedure for the analysis of Rayleigh waves in saturated porous elastic media is proposed by use of the finite element method. The layer stiffness matrix, the layer mass matrix and the layer damping matrix in a layered system are presented for the discretized form of the solid-fluid equilibrium equation proposed by Biot. In order to consider the influence of the permeability coefficient on the behavior of Rayleigh waves, attention is focused on the following states: ‘drained’ state, ‘undrained’ state and the states between two extremes of ‘drained’ and ‘undrained’ states. It is found from computed results that the permeability coefficient exerts a significant effect on dispersion curves and displacement distributions of Rayleigh waves in saturated porous media. |