Some remarks concerning the propagation of edge cracks in fluid-saturated materials

The present work falls within the framework of linear fracture mechanics extended to saturated porous media. It aims at generalizing the classical crack propagation criteria by accounting for poromechanical coupling. The main objective is to identify the driving force of propagation which now depends on the pore pressure. The result is applied in particular to the two limit cases of drained and undrained regimes. It is shown on the example of the 3-points bending test that significantly different propagation thresholds can be obtained.