Implementation of a hydromechanical elastoplastic constitutive model for fully coupled dynamic analysis of unsaturated soils and its validation using centrifuge test results

Prediction of unsaturated soil behavior during earthquake loading has received increasing attention in geotechnical engineering research and practice in recent years. Development of a fully coupled analysis procedure incorporating a coupled hydromechanical elastoplastic constitutive model for dynamic analysis of unsaturated soils has, however, been limited. This paper presents the implementation of a coupled hydromechanical elastoplastic constitutive model into a fully coupled dynamic analysis procedure and its validation using a centrifuge test. First, the fully coupled finite element equations governing the dynamic behavior of unsaturated soils with the solid skeleton displacement, pore water pressure, and pore air pressure as nodal unknowns are briefly presented. The closest point projection method is then utilized to implement the coupled hydromechanical elastoplastic constitutive model into the finite element equations. The constitutive model includes hysteresis in soil–water characteristic curves, cyclic elastoplasticity of the solid skeleton, and the coupling mechanisms between the SWCCs and the solid skeleton. Finally, the analysis procedure is validated using the results from a dynamic centrifuge test on an embankment constructed of compacted unsaturated silt subjected to base shaking. Reasonable comparisons between the predicted and measured accelerations, settlements, and deformed shapes are obtained.

     

非饱和土的水力和力学特性及其弹塑性描述

简单回顾了非饱和土本构模型研究的发展历程,总结了近几年非饱和土弹塑性本构模型最新研究成果,重点介绍了能统一模拟非饱和土水力性状和力学性状耦合的弹塑性本构模型。通过对建立模型过程中的几个核心问题讨论,较详细地说明该类模型的结构、性能以及相关问题。非饱和土水力性状的滞回性用假定存在饱和度弹性区间的弹塑性过程来模拟;该类耦合模型不仅考虑了吸力对非饱和土水力性状和力学性状的影响,还考虑了饱和度对应力-应变关系和强度的影响以及土体变形对土-水特征曲线的影响。用同一套模型参数,耦合模型可统一预测在吸力控制或含水率控制下沿各种应力路径下非饱和土的水力-力学特性,并简单介绍了膨胀性非饱和土的弹塑性本构模型以及耦合模型在有限元数值计算中的应用。     

A unified constitutive model for unsaturated soil under monotonic and cyclic loading

This study presents a sophisticated elastoplastic constitutive model for unsaturated soil using Bishop-type skeleton stress and degree of saturation as state variables in the framework of critical state soil mechanism. The model is proposed in order to describe the coupled hydromechanical behavior of unsaturated soil irrespective of what kind of the loadings or the drainage conditions may be. At the same time, a water retention characteristic curve considering the influence of deformation on degree of saturation is also proposed. In the model, the superloading and subloading concepts are introduced to consider the influences of overconsolidation and structure on deformation and strength of soils. The proposed model only employs nine parameters, among which five parameters are the same as those used in Cam-Clay model. The other four parameters have the clear physical meanings and can be easily determined by conventional soil tests. The capability and accuracy of the proposed model have been validated carefully through a series of laboratory tests such as isotropic loading tests and triaxial monotonic and cyclic compression tests under different mechanical and hydraulic conditions.

     

A constitutive model for unsaturated soils with consideration of inter-particle bonding

The paper presents a physically-based constitutive model for unsaturated soils that considers the bonding effect of water menisci at inter-particle contacts. A bonding factor has been used to represent the magnitude of the equivalent bonding stress, defined as the bonding force per unit cross-sectional area. The average skeleton stress is employed to represent the effect of average fluid pressures within soil pores. Based on an empirical relationship between the bonding factor ζ and the ratio e/e_s (where e and e_s are void ratios at unsaturated and saturated states, respectively, at the same average skeleton stress), we propose an elasto-plastic constitutive model for isotropic stress states, and then extend this model to triaxial stress states within the framework of critical state soil mechanics. Because only one yield surface is needed in the proposed model, a relatively small number of parameters are required. Comparisons between experimental data and model results show that, in most cases, the proposed model can reasonably capture the important features of unsaturated soil behavior.     

Coupled modelling of hydro‐mechanical behaviour of unsaturated compacted expansive soils

The Barcelona basic model cannot predict the mechanical behaviour of unsaturated expansive soils, whereas the Barcelona expansive model (BExM) can only predict the stress–strain behaviour of unsaturated expansive soils without the water‐retention behaviour being incorporated. Moreover, the micro‐parameters and the coupling function between micro‐structural and macro‐structural strains in the BExM are difficult to determine. Experimental data show that the compression curves for non‐expansive soils under constant suctions are shifted towards higher void ratios with increasing suction, whereas the opposite is true for expansive soils. According to the observed water‐retention behaviour of unsaturated expansive soils, the air‐entry value increases with density, and the relationship between the degree of saturation and void ratio is linear at constant suction. According to the above observation, an elastoplastic constitutive model is developed for predicting the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of unsaturated expansive soils, based on the existing hydro‐mechanical model for non‐expansive unsaturated soil. The model takes into consideration the effect of degree of saturation on the mechanical behaviour and that of void ratio on the water‐retention behaviour. The concept of equivalent void ratio curve is introduced to distinguish the plastic potential curve from the yield curve. The model predictions are compared with the test results of an unsaturated expansive soil, including swelling tests under constant net stress, isotropic compression tests and triaxial shear tests under constant suction. The comparison indicates that the model offers great potential for quantitatively predicting the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of unsaturated expansive soils. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Theoretical Evaluation of the Mechanical Behavior of Unsaturated Soils

An evaluation method for the mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils is studied in this paper. Although the mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils is complicated, a simple modeling is preferable in practice. This is because the soil properties are not homogeneous and ground data is limited when structures are being designed. In addition, in order to evaluate the reliability of the design, the physical meanings of the parameters applied in the prediction model should be clear. Firstly, the authors study the relationship between compaction curves and compression indexes in the unsaturated state that is used in the proposed constitutive model. Based on the constitutive model, the stress paths for constant volume shear tests are formulated under a constant void ratio condition and the stress paths for undrained shear tests are calculated under a constant water content condition. In the case of unsaturated specimens, the volume of these specimens changes with the shear deformation and the stress paths depend on the initial degree of saturation. The results of the calculation qualitatively describe the test results by considering the changes in effective confining pressure in the undrained condition and the water retention curves.     

Analytical solution to 1D coupled water infiltration and deformation in unsaturated soils

An analytical solution to 1D coupled water infiltration and deformation is derived using a Fourier integral transform. Exponential functional forms are used to represent the hydraulic conductivity–pore‐water pressure relationship and the soil‐water characteristic curve. Fredlund's incremental‐linear constitutive model for unsaturated soils is adopted. The analytical solution considers arbitrary initial pore‐water pressure distributions and flux and pressure boundary conditions. The corresponding analytical solutions to coupled steady‐state problems are also obtained. The analytical solutions demonstrate that the coupling of seepage and deformation plays an important role in water infiltration in unsaturated soils. In the early stages of infiltration, the difference between uncoupled and coupled conditions becomes marked over time, and in late stages, the difference caused by the coupling effects diminishes toward the steady state. The difference between the uncoupled and coupled conditions increases with decreasing desaturation coefficient (α). Pore‐water pressure or deformation changes caused by the coupling effects are mainly controlled by the degree of soil volume change due to a change in soil suction (H). The smaller the absolute value of H, the greater the effect of coupling on the infiltration and deformation. The ratio of rainfall intensity to saturated permeability (q/k_s) also has a strong influence on the coupled seepage and deformation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

成层非饱和土渗流的耦合解析解

成层土在工程中很常见,研究降雨过程中成层非饱和土的渗流-变形耦合对非饱和土土力学的发展具有重要的意义。由流体质量守恒,Darcy定律和Lloret等的非饱和土本构模型可得成层非饱和土渗流-变形耦合的控制方程。采用Gardner的非饱和土的渗透系数公式以及Boltzman模型,基于Laplace变换得到耦合方程的解析解。解析及其参数分析表明,渗流和变形耦合是具有时间效应的。与吸力变化相关的土的模量F,对成层土的孔隙水压力分布有明显影响。两层土的F差异越大,孔隙水压力消散得越慢,耦合效应越不显著。增大表层土的F值有利于降低耦合效应。成层土饱和体积含水率变化对吸力变化产生有限的影响     

A coupled two‐phase fluid flow and elastoplastic deformation model for unsaturated soils: theory,implementation, and application

Although numerous numerical models have been proposed for simulating the coupled hydromechanical behaviors in unsaturated soils, few studies satisfactorily reproduced the soil–water–air three‐phase coupling processes. Particularly, the impacts of deformation dependence of water retention curve, bonding stress, and gas flow on the coupled processes were less examined within a coupled soil–water–air model. Based on our newly developed constitutive models (Hu et al., 2013, 2014, 2015) in which the soil–water–air couplings have been appropriately captured, this study develops a computer code named F²Mus3D to investigate the coupled processes with a focus on the above impacts. In the numerical implementation, the generalized‐α time integration scheme was adopted to solve the equations, and a return‐mapping implicit stress integration scheme was used to update the state variables. The numerical model was verified by two well‐designed laboratory tests and was applied for modeling the coupled elastoplastic deformation and two‐phase fluid flow processes in a homogenous soil slope induced by rainfall infiltration. The simulation results demonstrated that the numerical model well reproduces the initiation of a sheared zone at the toe of the slope and its propagation toward the crest as the rain infiltration proceeds, which manifests a typical mechanism for rainfall‐induced shallow landslides. The simulated plastic strain and deformation would be remarkably underestimated when the bonding stress and/or the deformation‐dependent nature of hydraulic properties are ignored in the coupled model. But on the contrary, the negligence of gas flow in the slope soil results in an overestimation of the rainfall‐induced deformation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

非饱和土毛细滞回与变形耦合弹塑性本构模型

在修正剑桥模型的基础上,提出了一个非饱和土毛细滞回与骨架变形耦合的弹塑性本构模型。该模型考虑了基质吸力与饱和度对屈服应力的影响,可以同时描述非饱和土的弹塑性变形特性与毛细循环滞回效应。根据塑性体变的产生使非饱和土进气值增大的特点,建立了变形对土-水特征曲线影响的数学描述。该模型有效地考虑了饱和度对前期屈服应力的作用,准确地反映了土体在不同土-水状态条件下（脱湿和吸湿过程）强度特性的变化,而且还可以有效地描述水力循环历史对土体变形的影响。通过与试验数据对比,证明了该模型能够模拟非饱和土的主要力学特性。     

Numerical analysis of seepage–deformation in unsaturated soils

A coupled elastic–plastic finite element analysis based on simplified consolidation theory for unsaturated soils is used to investigate the coupling processes of water infiltration and deformation. By introducing a reduced suction and an elastic–plastic constitutive equation for the soil skeleton, the simplified consolidation theory for unsaturated soils is incorporated into an in-house finite element code. Using the proposed numerical method, the generation of pore water pressure and development of deformation can be simulated under evaporation or rainfall infiltration conditions. Through a parametric study and comparison with the test results, the proposed method is found to describe well the characteristics during water evaporation/infiltration into unsaturated soils. Finally, an unsaturated soil slope with water infiltration is analyzed in detail to investigate the development of the displacement and generation of pore water pressure.     

A fully coupled elastic–plastic hydromechanical model for compacted soils accounting for clay activity

A constitutive model, accounting for multiphase and multiscale coupling, is proposed for the water retention domain and the stress–strain response of compacted clayey soils. The model is based on a conceptual interpretation of the microfabric evolution of compacted soils along generalised hydromechanical paths, detected by means of mercury intrusion porosimeter tests. Multiphase coupling is provided by the mutual interaction between the mechanical and the hydraulic states. Multiscale coupling is introduced by a measure of the size of the aggregates, which influences both the retention and the stress–strain response, in the phenomenological constitutive equations. Model capabilities are verified by comparison with relevant experimental data from laboratory tests on compacted Boom clay and other selected experimental data on different compacted clayey soils. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不饱和土动弹塑性本构模型研究

以饱和度与有效应力为状态变量,通过引入描述不饱和与饱和土孔隙比差的状态变量,将Zhang等提出的饱和土体应力诱导各向异性动弹塑性本构模型推广到不饱和土体中,使其可描述不饱和土在动力循环荷载作用下的力学特性行为。通过对已有不饱和土体在完全不排水条件下的动三轴试验进行理论模拟,验证了所提出不饱和土本构模型的正确性。最后基于所提出本构模型,讨论了在不排水条件下初始饱和度对不饱和土动力特性研究。结果表明,不饱和土在动力荷载作用下,土体的孔隙比将减少,导致饱和度增加;当初始饱和度较高时,不饱和土会转化为饱和土,从而发生液化现象。该研究成果对研究不饱和土在地震等动力荷载作用下的力学特性行为具有重要意义。     

Effect of degree of saturation on mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils and its elastoplastic simulation

The two stress-state variable approach has been widely used in interpreting unsaturated soil behaviour. However this approach cannot take into account the effect of degree of saturation or water contents on the stress–strain behaviour and strength of unsaturated soils. The triaxial test results presented in this paper show that even if the same path of net stress and suction is followed, the stress–strain relation and strength are different due to different degrees of saturation. When other conditions are the same, the higher the degree of saturation for the soil sample is, the higher the stress ratio corresponding to a given axial strain will be. This effect can be modeled by using an elasto-plastic constitutive model coupling hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. Comparisons between the predicted and measured results are presented, which demonstrate that the model can quantitatively simulate the influence of the degree of saturation on stress–strain behaviour and strength of unsaturated soils.     

Fully coupled elastoplastic hydro-mechanical analysis of unsaturated porous media using a meshfree method

This paper presents the first application of an advanced meshfree method, ie, the edge-based smoothed point interpolation method (ESPIM), in simulation of the coupled hydro-mechanical behaviour of unsaturated porous media. In the proposed technique, the problem domain is spatially discretised using a triangular background mesh, and the polynomial point interpolation method combined with a simple node selection scheme is adopted for creating nodal shape functions. Smoothing domains are formed on top of the background mesh, and a constant smoothed strain, created by applying the smoothing operation over the smoothing domains, is assigned to each smoothing domain. The deformation and flow models are developed based on the equilibrium equation of the mixture, and linear momentum and mass balance equations of the fluid phases, respectively. The effective stress approach is followed to account for the coupling between the flow and deformation models. Further coupling among the phases is captured through a hysteretic soil water retention model that evolves with changes in void ratio. An advanced elastoplastic constitutive model within the context of the bounding surface plasticity theory is employed for predicting the nonlinear behaviour of soil skeleton. Time discretisation is performed by adopting a three-point discretisation method with growing time steps to avoid temporal instabilities. A modified Newton-Raphson framework is designed for dealing with nonlinearities of the discretised system of equations. The performance of the numerical model is examined through a number of numerical examples. The state-of-the-art computational scheme developed is useful for simulation of geotechnical engineering problems involving unsaturated soils.     

Simulation of liquefaction of unsaturated soil using critical state soil model

Several researchers have reported that the mean effective stress of unsaturated soils having a relatively high degree of saturation gradually decreases under fully undrained cyclic loading conditions, and such soils can be finally liquefied like saturated soils. This paper describes a series of simulations of fully undrained cyclic loading on unsaturated soils, conducted using an elastoplastic model for unsaturated soils. This model is a critical state soil model formulated using effective stress tensor for unsaturated soils, which incorporates the following concepts: (a) the volumetric movement of the state boundary surface containing the critical state line owing to the variation in the degree of saturation; (b) the soil water characteristic curve considering the effects of specific volume and hydraulic hysteresis; and (c) the subloading surface concept for considering the effect of density. Void air is assumed to be an ideal gas obeying Boyle's law. The proposed model is validated through comparisons with past results. The simulation results show that the proposed model properly describes the fully undrained cyclic behavior of unsaturated soils, such as liquefaction, compression, and an increase in the degree of saturation. Finally, the effects of the degree of saturation, void ratio, and confining pressure on the cyclic strength of unsaturated soils are described by the simulation results. The liquefaction resistance of unsaturated soils increases as the degree of saturation and the void ratio decrease, and as the confining pressure increases. Furthermore, the degree of saturation has a greater effect on the liquefaction resistance than the confining pressure and void ratio. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

非饱和土广义有效应力原理

综述了非饱和土有效应力的沿革,并就非饱和土有效应力的研究和发展中存在的问题进行了讨论。基于多相孔隙介质理论推导得到的变形功的表达式,提出了非饱和土广义有效应力原理。该原理认为,由非饱和土中的单应力变量的有效应力或双应力变量理论很难唯一地确定非饱和土的变形和强度。广义有效应力原理实质上就是要综合考虑影响非饱和土变形和强度的三种广义应力以及与其对偶的广义变形,给出考虑因素更为全面、理论基础更为坚实的广义有效应力原理。它为非饱和土基本性质的研究和本构方程的建立奠定了坚实而科学的理论基础。     

考虑基质吸力变化时非饱和土的一维本构模型

当地下水位上升或地面遇水浸润时,土的饱和度将因毛细作用而变化,以此使土体产生变形。其中由于含水量增加而使土的重度增大,从而引起压缩变形;同时含水量的增加而使基质吸力下降,从而引起土的回弹变形,因此最终变形取决于上述两种变形趋势的综合效应。根据广义Hook定律、Fredlund的双应力状态变量及Brooks和Corey关于基质吸力与饱和度之间的经验关系,建立了K0状态下非饱和土的一维本构模型。将这一模型与分层总和法相结合,可以计算基质吸力变化时土的竖向变形。通过研究发现,非饱和土的地面变形不仅取决于土的性质与土层的厚度,而且依赖于土中吸力变化前后的分布及应力状态等因素。所建议的一维本构模型可以用于非饱和土地基上基础的沉降估算。     

Work and energy equations and the principle of generalized effective stress for unsaturated soils

The effective stress principle has been efficiently applied to saturated soils in the soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering practice; however, its applicability to unsaturated soils is still under debate. The appropriate selection of stress state variables is essential for the construction of constitutive models for unsaturated soils. Owing to the complexity of unsaturated soils, it is difficult to determine the deformation and strength behaviors of unsaturated soils uniquely with the previous single‐effective‐stress variable theory and two‐effective‐stress‐variable theory in all the situations. In this paper, based on the porous media theory, the specific expression of work is proposed, and the effective stress of unsaturated soils conjugated with the displacement of the soil skeleton is further derived. In the derived work and energy balance equations, the energy dissipation in unsaturated soils is taken into account. According to the derived work and energy balance equations, all of the three generalized stresses and the conjugated strains have effects on the deformation of unsaturated soils. For considering these effects, a principle of generalized effective stress to describe the behaviors of unsaturated soils is proposed. The proposed principle of generalized effective stress may reduce to the previous effective stress theory of single‐stress variable or the two‐stress variables under certain conditions. This principle provides a helpful reference for the development of constitutive models for unsaturated soils. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.