Modelling the behaviour of an embankment on soft clay with different constitutive models

The paper investigates the effect of constitutive models on the predicted response of a simplified benchmark problem, an embankment on soft soil. The soft soil is assumed to have the properties of POKO clay from Finland and five different constitutive models are used to model the deposit. Two of the models are isotropic models, i.e. the Modified Cam Clay model and the Soft‐Soil model. The other models are recently proposed constitutive models that account for plastic anisotropy. The S‐CLAY1 and S‐CLAY1S models are embedded in a standard elasto‐plastic framework and account for anisotropy via a rotational hardening law. In addition, the S‐CLAY1S model accounts for bonding and destructuration. In contrast, the Multilaminate Model for Clay (MMC) accounts for plastic anisotropy by utilizing so‐called multilaminate framework. The results of numerical simulations show that accounting for anisotropy results in notable differences in the predicted settlements and horizontal movements compared to the predictions using the isotropic models. There are also significant differences in the K₀ predictions by the different constitutive models and this has a significant impact on the results. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An anisotropic elastoplastic model for soft clays based on logarithmic contractancy

A new constitutive model for soft structured clays is developed based on an existing model called S‐CLAY1S, which is a Cam clay type model that accounts for anisotropy and destructuration. The new model (E‐SCLAY1S) uses the framework of logarithmic contractancy to introduce a new parameter that controls the shape of the yield surface as well as the plastic potential (as an assumed associated flow rule is applied). This new parameter can be used to fit the coefficient of earth pressure at rest, the undrained shear strength or the stiffness under shearing stress paths predicted by the model. The improvement to previous constitutive models that account for soil fabric and bonding is formulated within the contractancy framework such that the model predicts the uniqueness of the critical state line and its slope is independent of the contractancy parameter. Good agreement has been found between the model predictions and published laboratory results for triaxial compression tests. An important finding is that the contractancy parameter, and consequently the shape of the yield surface, seems to change with the degree of anisotropy; however, further study is required to investigate this response. From published data, the yield surface for isotropically consolidated clays seems ‘bullet’ or ‘almond’ shaped, similar to that of the Cam clay model; while for anisotropically consolidated clays, the yield surface is more elliptical, like a rotated and distorted modified Cam clay yield surface. © 2015 The Authors. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Anisotropic viscoplastic modeling of rate‐dependent behavior of clay

The objective of this study is to derive an effective stress‐based constitutive law capable of predicting rate‐dependent stress–strain, stress path and undrained shear strength and creep behavior. The flow rule used in the MIT‐E3 model and viscoplasticity theory is employed in the derivation. The model adopts the yield surface capable of representing the yield behavior of the Taipei silty clay and assumes that it is initially symmetric about the K₀‐line. A method is then developed to compute the gyration and expansion of the loading surface to simulate the anisotropic behavior due to the principal stress rotation after shear. There are 11 parameters required for the model to describe the soil behavior and six of them are exactly the same as those used in the Modified Cam‐clay model. The five additional parameters can be obtained by parametric studies or conventional soil tests, such as consolidation tests, triaxial compression and extension tests. Finally, verification of the model for the anisotropic behavior, creep behavior and the rate‐dependent undrained stress–strain and shear strength of the Taipei silty clay is conducted. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A unified bounding surface plasticity model for unsaturated soils

A unified constitutive model for unsaturated soils is presented in a critical state framework using the concepts of effective stress and bounding surface plasticity theory. Consideration is given to the effects of unsaturation and particle crushing in the definition of the critical state. A simple isotropic elastic rule is adopted. A loading surface and a bounding surface of the same shape are defined using simple and versatile functions. The bounding surface and elastic rules lead to the existence of a limiting isotropic compression line, towards which the stress trajectories of all isotropic compression load paths approach. A non‐associated flow rule of the same general form is assumed for all soil types. Isotropic hardening/softening occurs due to changes in plastic volumetric strains as well as suction for some unsaturated soils, enabling the phenomenon of volumetric collapse upon wetting to be accounted for. The model is used to simulate the stress–strain behaviour observed in unsaturated speswhite kaolin subjected to three triaxial test load paths. The fit between simulation and experiment is improved compared to that of other constitutive models developed using conventional Cam‐Clay‐based plasticity theory and calibrated using the same set of data. Also, the model is used to simulate to a high degree of accuracy the stress–strain behaviour observed in unsaturated Kurnell sand subjected to two triaxial test load paths and the oedometric compression load path. For oedometric compression theoretical simulations indicate that the suction was not sufficiently large to cause samples to separate from the confining ring. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modified Structured Cam Clay: A generalised critical state model for destructured,naturally structured and artificially structured clays

This paper presents a generalised constitutive model for destructured, naturally structured and artificially structured clays that extends the Structured Cam Clay (SCC) model. This model is designated as “Modified Structured Cam Clay (MSCC) model”. The influence of structure and destructuring on the mechanical behaviour of clay can be explained by the change in the modified effective stress, which is the sum of the current mean effective stress and the additional mean effective stress due to structure (structure strength). The presence of structure increases the modified mean effective stress and yield surface, enhancing the cohesion, peak strength and stiffness. The destructuring begins when the stress state is on the virgin yield surface. After the failure (peak strength) state, the abrupt destructuring occurs as the soil–cementation structure is crushed; hence the strain softening. The soil structure is completely removed at the critical state when the yield surface becomes identical to the destructured surface. The destructuring law is proposed based on this premise. In the MSCC model, the yield function is the same shape as that of the Modified Cam Clay (MCC) model. A plastic potential is introduced so as to account for the influence of structure on the plastic strain direction for both hardening and softening behaviours. The required model parameters are divided into those describing destructured properties and those describing structured properties. All the parameters have physical meaning and can be simply determined from the conventional triaxial tests. Thus, the MSCC model is a useful tool for geotechnical practitioners. The capability of the model is verified by the test results of destructured, natural structured and artificially structured clays.     

A two-surface plasticity model for stiff clay

This paper presents a constitutive model for describing some important features of the behavior of natural stiff clay evidenced experimentally such as the limited elastic zone, the presence of strain hardening and softening, and the smooth transition from elastic behavior to a plastic one. The model, namely ACC-2, is an adapted Modified Cam Clay model with two yield surfaces: similarly to bounding surface plasticity theory, an additional yield surface—namely Inner yield surface—was adopted to account for the plastic behavior inside the conventional yield surface. A progressive plastic hardening mechanism was introduced with a combined volumetric-deviatoric hardening law associated with the Inner yield surface, enabling the plastic modulus to vary smoothly during loading paths. The main feature of the proposed model is that its constitutive equations can be simply formulated based on the consistency condition for the Inner yield surface, so that it can be efficiently implemented in a finite element code using a stress integration scheme similar to that of the Modified Cam Clay model. Furthermore, it is proved to be an appropriate model for natural stiff clay: the simulations of a set of tests along different mechanical loading paths on natural Boom Clay show good agreement with the experimental results.     

A hypoplastic constitutive model for clays

This paper presents a new constitutive model for clays. The model is developed on the basis of generalized hypoplasticity principles, which are combined with traditional critical state soil mechanics. The positions of the isotropic normal compression line and the critical state line correspond to the Modified Cam clay model, the Matsuoka–Nakai failure surface is taken as the limit stress criterion and the non‐linear behaviour of soils with different overconsolidation ratios is governed by the generalized hypoplastic formulation. The model requires five constitutive parameters, which correspond to the parameters of the Modified Cam clay model and are simple to calibrate on the basis of standard laboratory experiments. This makes the model particularly suitable for practical applications. The basic model may be simply enhanced by the intergranular strain concept, which allows reproducing the behaviour at very small strains. The model is evaluated on the basis of high quality laboratory experiments on reconstituted London clay. Contrary to a reference hypoplastic relation, the proposed model may be applied to highly overconsolidated clays. Improvement of predictions in the small strain range at different stress levels is also demonstrated. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Constitutive modeling of the destructuration and anisotropy of natural soft clay

The mechanical behavior of natural clays is affected by their inherent anisotropy and metastable soil structure. A simple hierarchical model that considers initial anisotropy and destructuration was formulated within the framework of critical state soil mechanics. In the proposed model, stress sensitivity and a destructuration index were introduced to account for the degree of bonding and the rate of destructuration, respectively. An inclined yield surface was used to incorporate the effect of the initial anisotropy. The proposed model can be degenerated to the Modified Cam Clay model by setting the initial stress sensitivity equal to unity and using a horizontal yield surface. Reasonable agreement between the model simulations and the experimental results on a variety of stress paths demonstrated that the proposed model can capture well the deformation behavior of natural clay and reconstituted soil. The model was implemented into the finite element program for the numerical analysis of an embankment on soft clay improved with prefabricated vertical drains. The numerical predictions were compared with the field-measured data in terms of embankment settlement. Additionally, the numerical simulations were analyzed in terms of horizontal displacements, excess pore water pressure, mean effective stress and volumetric strain. All of the simulations and comparisons indicate the importance of considering the effects of plastic anisotropy, interparticle bonding and destructuration caused by loading beyond yield stress and field disturbance in analyzing the behavior of an embankment on natural soft clay.     

Diffuse bifurcations engraving diverse shear bands in granular materials

Shear bands with characteristic spatial patterns observed in an experiment for a cubic or parallelepiped specimen of dry dense sand were simulated by numerical bifurcation analysis using the Cam‐clay plasticity model. By incorporating the subloading surface concept into the plasticity model, the model became capable of reproducing hardening/softening and contractive/dilative behavior observed in the experiment. The model was reformulated to be compatible with the multiplicative hyperelasto‐plasticity for finite strains. This enhanced constitutive model was implemented into a finite‐element code reinforced by a stress updating algorithm based on the return‐mapping scheme, and by an efficient numerical procedure to compute critical eigenvectors of elastoplastic tangent stiffness matrix at bifurcation points. The emergence of diamond‐ and column‐like diffuse bifurcation modes breaking uniformity of the materials, followed by the evolution of shear bands through strain localization, was observed in the analysis. In the bifurcation analysis of plane strain compression test, unexpected bifurcation modes, which broke out‐of‐plane uniformity and led to 3‐dimensional diamond‐like patterns, were detected. Diffuse bifurcations, which were difficult to observe by experiments, have thus been found as a catalyst creating diverse shear band patterns.     

SANICLAY: simple anisotropic clay plasticity model

SANICLAY is a new simple anisotropic clay plasticity model that builds on a modification of an earlier model with an associated flow rule, in order to include simulations of softening response under undrained compression following K_o consolidation. Non‐associativity is introduced by adopting a yield surface different than the plastic potential surface. Besides, the isotropic hardening of the yield surface both surfaces evolve according to a combined distortional and rotational hardening rule, simulating the evolving anisotropy. Although built on the general premises of critical state soil mechanics, the model induces a critical state line in the void ratio–mean effective stress space, which is a function of anisotropy. To ease interpretation, the model formulation is presented firstly in the triaxial stress space and subsequently, its multiaxial generalization is developed systematically, in a form appropriate for implementation in numerical codes. The SANICLAY is shown to provide successful simulation of both undrained and drained rate‐independent behaviour of normally consolidated sensitive clays, and to a satisfactory degree of accuracy of overconsolidated clays. The new model requires merely three constants more than those of the modified Cam clay model, all of which are easily calibrated from well‐established laboratory tests following a meticulously presented procedure. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of yielding and stress–stain behavior of shanghai soft clay

In this paper, a simple bounding surface plasticity model is used to reproduce the yielding and stress–strain behavior of the structured soft clay found at Shanghai of China. A series of undrained triaxial tests and drained stress probe tests under isotropic and anisotropic consolidation modes were performed on undisturbed samples of Shanghai soft clay to study the yielding characteristics. The degradation of the clay structure is modeled with an internal variable that allows the size of the bounding surface to decay with accumulated plastic strain. An anisotropic tensor and rotational hardening law are introduced to reflect the initial anisotropy and the evolution of anisotropy. Combined with the isotropic hardening rule, the rotational hardening rule and the degradation law are incorporated into the bounding surface formulation with an associated flow rule. Validity of the model is verified by the undrained isotropic and anisotropic triaxial test and drained stress probe test results for Shanghai soft clay. The effects of stress anisotropy and loss of structure are well captured by the model.     

Predictions of a continuous hyperplasticity model for Bangkok clay

The performance of a new constitutive model called ‘kinematic hardening modified Cam clay’ (KHMCC) is presented. The model is described using the ‘continuous hyperplasticity’ framework. Essentially this involves an infinite number of yield surfaces, thus allowing a smooth transition between elasticity and plasticity. The framework allows soil models to be developed in a relatively succinct mathematical form, since the entire constitutive behaviour can be determined through the specification of two scalar potentials. An implementation of the continuous hyperplasticity model is also described. The model requires eight parameters plus a viscosity coefficient for rate-dependent analysis. The model is defined in terms of triaxial stress–strain variables for this study, and is used to model monotonic triaxial tests on Bangkok clay. Comparisons of the theoretical predictions with the results of cyclic undrained triaxial compression tests on Bangkok clay are also presented.     

A destructuration theory and its application to SANICLAY model

Many natural clays have an undisturbed shear strength in excess of the remoulded strength. Destructuration modeling provides a means to account for such sensitivity in a constitutive model. This paper extends the SANICLAY model to include destructuration. Two distinct types of destructuration are considered: isotropic and frictional. The former is a concept already presented in relation to other models and in essence constitutes a mechanism of isotropic softening of the yield surface with destructuration. The latter refers to the reduction of the critical stress ratio reflecting the effect of destructuration on the friction angle, and is believed to be a novel proposition. Both the types depend on a measure of destructuration rate expressed in terms of combined plastic volumetric and deviatoric strain rates. The SANICLAY model itself is generalized from its previous form by additional dependence of the yield surface on the third isotropic stress invariant. Such a generalization allows to obtain as particular cases simplified model versions of lower complexity including one with a single surface and associative flow rule, by simply setting accordingly parameters of the generalized version. A detailed calibration procedure of the relatively few model constants is presented, and the performance of three versions of the model, in descending order of complexity, is validated by comparison of simulations to various data for oedometric consolidation followed by triaxial undrained compression and extension tests on two structured clays. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

一种适用于饱和黏土循环动力分析边界面塑性模型的隐式积分算法

修正了传统隐式回映算法,建立了适用于饱和黏土循环动力分析的边界面塑性模型的完全隐式积分格式。该模型基于无弹性域概念和临界状态理论,采用各向同性、运动硬化准则、旋转的边界面,并引入表征土体结构损伤和重塑程度的损伤变量以反映循环载荷作用下饱和黏土的各向异性、刚度、强度软化及塑性变形累积等特征。针对等压固结 和偏压固结 的饱和高岭黏土的不排水三轴试验进行模拟,采用不同的应变增量步长进行计算,并与试验数据对比,结果表明,修正隐式回映算法应用于该类边界面模型的合理性、积分格式的精确性和稳定性;另外,结合有限元软件自动时间步长的增量迭代解法,对饱和黏土应力控制的不排水动三轴试验进行预测,结果表明,修正的适用于该边界面的塑性模型隐式回映算法可以得到比较合理的数值分析结果,能够反映饱和黏土的循环刚度的退化和强度的弱化等动力特性。     

Dynamic analysis of strain localization in water‐saturated clay using a cyclic elasto‐viscoplastic model

A computational framework is presented for dynamic strain localization and deformation analyses of water‐saturated clay by using a cyclic elasto‐viscoplastic constitutive model. In the model, the nonlinear kinematic hardening rule and softening due to the structural degradation of soil particles are considered. In order to appropriately simulate the large deformation phenomenon in strain localization analysis, the dynamic finite element formulation for a two‐phase mixture is derived in the updated Lagrangian framework. The shear band development is shown through the distributions of viscoplastic shear strain, the axial strain, the mean effective stress, and the pore water pressure in a normally consolidated clay specimen. From the local stress–strain relations, more brittleness is found inside the shear bands than outside of them. The effects of partially drained conditions and mesh‐size dependency on the shear banding are also investigated. The effect of a partially drained boundary is found to be insignificant on the dynamic shear band propagation because of the rapid rate of applied loading and low permeability of the clay. Using the finer mesh results in slightly narrower shear bands; nonetheless, the results manifest convergency through the mesh refinement in terms of the overall shape of shear banding and stress–strain relations. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Constitutive modelling of fine-grained gassy soil: A composite approach

Fine-grained marine sediments containing large undissolved gas bubbles are widely distributed around the world. Presence of the bubbles could degrade the undrained shear strength (s_u ) of the soil, when the gas pressure u_g is relatively high as compared with the effective stress in the saturated soil matrix. Meanwhile, the addition of bubbles may also increase s_u when the difference between u_g and pore water pressure u_w becomes smaller than the water entry value, causing partial water drainage from the saturated matrix into the bubbles (bubble flooding) during globally undrained shearing. A new constitutive model for describing the two competing effects on the stress-strain relationship of fine-grained gassy soil is proposed within the framework of critical state soil mechanics. The gassy soil is considered as a three-phase composite material with compressible cavities, which allows water entry from the saturated matrix. Bubble flooding is modelled by introducing an additional positive volumetric strain increment of the saturated clay matrix, which is dependent on the difference between pore gas and pore water pressure based on experimental observations. A modified hardening law based on that of the modified Cam clay model is employed, which in conjunction with the expression for bubble flooding, can describe both the detrimental and beneficial effects of gas bubbles on soil strength and plastic hardening in shear. Only two extra parameters in addition to those in the modified Cam clay model are used. It is shown that the key features of the stress-strain relationship of three fine-grained gassy soils can be reproduced satisfactorily.     

A rigorous semi‐analytical solution for undrained cylindrical cavity expansion in critical state soils

This paper presents a generalized, rigorous and simple large strain solution for the undrained expansion of a vertical cylindrical cavity in critical state soils using a rate‐based plasticity formulation: the initial stress field is taken as anisotropic, that is with horizontal stresses that differ from the vertical stress, and the soil is assumed to satisfy any two‐invariant constitutive model from the critical state (Cam‐clay) family; no simplifying assumption is made during the mathematical derivation; calculating the effective stresses around the cavity requires the solution of a nonlinear equation by means of the Newton–Raphson method in combination with quadrature. Cavity expansion curves and stress distributions in the soil are then presented for different critical state models (including the modified Cam‐clay model). The solution derived can be useful for estimating the instantaneous response of saturated low‐permeability soils around piles and self‐boring pressuremeters and can serve as trustworthy benchmark for numerical analysis codes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A critical state model for overconsolidated structured clays

This paper presents a generalised critical state model with the bounding surface theory for simulating the stress–strain behaviour of overconsolidated structured clays. The model is formulated based on the framework of the Structured Cam Clay (SCC) model and is designated as the Modified Structured Cam Clay with Bounding Surface Theory (MSCC-B) model. The hardening and destructuring processes for structured clays in the overconsolidated state can be described by the proposed model. The image stress point defined by the radial mapping rule is used to determine the plastic hardening modulus, which varies along loading paths. A new proposed parameter h, which depends on the material characteristics, is introduced into the plastic hardening modulus equation to take the soil behaviour into account in the overconsolidated state. The MSCC-B model is finally evaluated in light of the model performance by comparisons with the measured data of both naturally and artificially structured clays under compression and shearing tests. From the comparisons, it is found that the MSCC-B model gives reasonable good simulations of mechanical response of structured clays in both drained and undrained conditions. With its simplicity and performance, the MSCC-B model is regarded as a practical geotechnical model for implementation in numerical analysis.     

Application of the exact constitutive relationship of modified Cam clay to the undrained expansion of a spherical cavity

The modified Cam clay (MCC) model is used to study the response of virgin‐compressed clay subjected to undrained triaxial compression. The MCC constitutive relationship is obtained in a closed form. Both elastic and plastic deviatoric strains are considered in the analysis. The solution allows to obtain total and effective stress paths followed by the clay in undrained spherical expansion. Pore water pressures are determined from the difference between total and effective mean stresses. For illustration purposes, the analysis is also applied to the well‐known reconstituted normally consolidated London clay and the results are compared with the recently published data obtained by a numerical approach. In addition, the Almansi large strains are used in the analysis, as these allow to obtain limit expansion and pore pressures, whereas both small‐strain and logarithmic‐strain approaches do not permit to determine them. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.