A Static Enthalpy Equilibrium Approach to the Stability of Saturated Sands (Version 2)

Manfred Heinrich Wittig

This preprint presents a physical formulaton for the stability of saturated granular systems based on a static enthalpy equilibrium. The approach definnes equilibrium as the balance between the gravitationel potential of the granular framework and the hydraulic work of the pore water. From this energetic condition, the limit state and the transition between stable, metastable, and liquefied behaviour follow directly, without the need for empirical calibration or numerical modelling. The work shows that liquefaction is not a purely failure but the energetic reorganisation of a saturated strcture once the enthalpy equilibrition is violated.

Version 2 represents a substantially revised and extented form of the original preprint. It includes new sections on the physical limits of porosity, the energetic interpretation of boundary conditions, and the discussion of numerical validity. The scope has been expanded from saturated sands to granular matter to reflect the general physical applicability of the enthalpy framework. The updated version clarifies the energetic limit state as a physical condition that marks the boundary where continuum-based numerical descriptions lose validity and hydromechnical behaviour dominates.