Performance of constitutive models in predicting behavior of remolded clay

The performance of several soil constitutive models was evaluated by comparing experimental results and simulated behavior of a medium plasticity clay. Input parameters for the soil constitutive models were obtained from triaxial compression and extension tests on normally and overconsolidated medium plasticity clay. The soil models employed for this study were the Cam Clay, Modified Cam Clay, 3-SKH, and S-CLAY1 models. In order to investigate the influence of some of the input parameters on the performance of the models, sensitivity analyses were also performed. The comparisons demonstrate that the Cam Clay model was able to predict the normally consolidated compressive behavior of medium plasticity clay. Both 3-SKH and Cam Clay models were able to produce acceptable predictions for stress?Cstrain and stress path behavior for overconsolidated compression of the soil. The 3-SKH model did not perform satisfactorily for predicting pore pressure variations, while the Cam Clay model demonstrated fairly acceptable predictions. For the normally consolidated reduced extension test, the Modified Cam Clay and S-CLAY1 models performed better than the Cam Clay and 3-SKH models in predicting the stress?Cstrain curve, pore pressure variations, and stress path.     

Sensitivity Analysis of Selected Input Parameters for an Advanced Constitutive Model

Experimental results and simulated behavior of a medium plasticity clay were compared to investigate the performance of an advanced soil constitutive model. The soil model employed for this study was the 3-SKH model. The performance of this model was compared to the performance of two other critical state models; the Cam Clay (CC) and Modified Cam Clay (MCC) models. In addition, the influences of some of the input parameters on the performance of the 3-SKH model were investigated by performing sensitivity analyses. The comparisons demonstrated that the CC model was able to predict normally consolidated compressive behavior of the remolded medium plasticity clay. The compression behavior of overconsolidated clay was better captured by both the 3-SKH and CC models. For extension behavior of the normally consolidated samples, the MCC model performed better than the CC and 3-SKH models in predicting the stress path. The 3-SKH model was found to be very sensitive to varying the exponent in the hardening function. In particular, a difference between the evaluated values as small as 0.01 had a noticeable effect on the predicted stress–strain values for the overconsolidated compression and extension samples.     

Modeling small-strain behavior of Taipei clays for finite element analysis of braced excavations

We examine the small-strain behavior of Taipei clays in braced excavation through a detailed analysis of a well-documented case history. Specifically, we analyze the case of the Taipei National Enterprise Center (TNEC) excavation using two soil models, the Modified Cam-clay model (MCC) and the three-Surface Kinematic Hardening model (3-SKH). Our finite element analysis includes a consideration of the over-consolidated stress state and the high initial shear modulus of the clay. Results show that the observed wall deflection and surface settlement can be satisfactorily predicted simultaneously using the 3-SKH model. This is an improvement on the MCC model, for which only wall deflection, not ground settlement, can be accurately predicted. This study re-confirms the importance of considering small-strain non-linear behavior for the over-consolidated stress state in finite element analyses of braced excavation responses.     

Influence of stone column installation on settlement reduction

The paper presents numerical simulations investigating the settlement reduction caused by stone columns in a natural soft clay. The focus is on the influence of the soft soil alteration caused by column installation. A uniform mesh of end-bearing columns under a distributed load was considered. Therefore, the columns were modelled using the “unit cell” concept, i.e. only one column and the corresponding surrounding soil in axial symmetry. The properties of the soft clay correspond to Bothkennar clay, which is modelled using S-CLAY1 and S-CLAY1S, which are Cam clay type models that account for anisotropy and destructuration. The Modified Cam clay model is also used for comparison. Column installation was modelled independently to avoid mesh distortions, and soft soil alteration was directly considered in the initial input values. The results show that the changes in the stress field, such as the increase of radial stresses and mean stresses and the loss of overconsolidation, are beneficial for high loads and closely spaced columns but, on the contrary, may be negative for low loads, widely spaced columns and overconsolidated soils. Moreover, whilst the rotation of the soil fabric reduces the settlement, in contrast the soil destructuration during column installation reduces the improvement.     

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.     

Validation of a non-associated critical state model

A non-associated constitutive critical state model is proposed. The yield surface is that of Modified Cam Clay, whilst the plastic potential is an empirical function. The yield and plastic potential surfaces in the octahedral plane vary from circular at low stress ratios, to the Matsuoka-Nakai surface at failure. Assessment of the model has been by comparison with laboratory tests on soft clay. Further validation has been by predicting centrifuge model behaviour using a modified form of the CRISP finite element program. Comparisons of the numerical analyses, using the proposed model and Modified Cam Clay, show improved correlations with the experimental data. ©     

Capability of constitutive models to simulate soils with different OCR using a single set of parameters

Incorporation of void ratio as a state variable into constitutive models allows, in principle, to use a single set of parameters for soils with different OCRs. Two sets of experimental data on reconstituted clays are used for evaluation of three constitutive models of different complexity (Modified Cam clay model, 3SKH model, hypoplastic model for clays). Although all the models predict the influence of OCR correctly from the qualitative point of view, quantitative comparison using a suitable scalar error measure reveals merits and shortcomings of different models.     

Loading path dependence and non-linear stiffness at small strain using rate-dependent multisurface hyperplasticity model

Many interpretations of small-strain experiments indicate a non-linear dependence of soil stiffness on pressure. This shows that small-strain stiffness can be expressed as a power function of the mean effective stress rather than as a linear function of stress. Many cases in the field show the importance of these behaviours to load–deformation prediction in a soil-structure interaction problem. This paper presents a numerical implementation and validation of non-linear pressure-dependent stiffness in a hyperplasticity model using a strain-driven forward-Euler integration scheme. The kinematic hardening function was incorporated into a finite number of multiple-yield surfaces of Modified Cam Clay to characterise small-strain stiffness and accommodate smooth transition of stiffness corresponding to different loading conditions and stress histories. Experimental results of current state and loading history dependence in overconsolidated clay are compared to the model prediction.     

桩柱结构在地震作用下非线性响应研究

基于试验基础上建立的经典弹塑性模型--剑桥模型能够准确描述正常固结土的应力-应变关系。当土体的应力历史上经历过卸载或受到循环交变荷载作用即进入超固结状态,它作为土的应力历史的反映,相比正常固结土受力特性有着显著的差异。为研究超固结因素对土体加载特性的影响,在引入能考虑超固结状态影响的下负荷面剑桥模型后,通过三轴压缩和剪切试验对处于超固结状态下土体的受力特性进行了对比分析,并对循环剪切加载下的应力-应变关系以及超固结比的演化规律进行了研究。结果表明,下负荷面剑桥模型能准确反映超固结因素对土体力学特性的影响,相比原状土有着更高的屈服强度。而通过数值模拟自由场地基在地震作用下的动力响应可以看出,超固结因素对地基的动力响应起到了不可忽略的影响,尤其在强震下更需要考虑其影响。在自由场地基地震动力响应基础上,通过对桩柱结构桩-土耦合系统在地震作用下非线性动力响应的模拟对土体非线性以及超固结因素的影响进行了对比研究,研究表明：土体的非线性因素能显著降低结构振动响应中的高频成分,由于土体在交变加载下很快进入超固结状态,相对于剑桥模型,下负荷面剑桥模型在考虑超固结因素后土体的承载性能显著提高,尤其在强震作用下超固结因素带来的影响更加明显,因此,建议对桩基结构物地震响应研究考虑超固结因素影响,以提高桩基结构物地震响应模拟的精确度和可靠性。     

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.     

Associated and non-associated constitutive relations for undrained behaviour of isotropic soft clays

Incremental theory of plasticity has been used to derive associated and non-associated stress–strain relations for analysing the undrained stress-strain response of isotropic normally and lightly overconsolidated clays. A series of comparisons between the theoretical stress-strain-pore pressure response and laboratory test results for 3 in. × 6 in. samples of very high degree of repeatability and reproduceability have been described. From these comparisons it can be seen that both the associated and, non-associated Cam clay models appear to give consistently the best correlations between the theoretical results and the experimental observations.     

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 two-surface plasticity model for cyclic behavior of saturated clay

This paper presents a two-surface plasticity model for describing some important features of saturated clay under cyclic loading conditions, such as closed hysteresis loops, cyclic shakedown and degradation, and different stress–strain relations for two-way loading. The model, namely ACC-2-C, is based on the elastoplastic model ACC-2 (an adapted Modified Cam Clay model with two yield surfaces) developed by Hong et al. (Acta Geotech 11(4):871–885, 2015). The small-strain nonlinearity concept is adopted to achieve the nonlinear characteristics of clay during unloading–loading stage. The new hardening law related to accumulated deviatoric plastic strain is proposed for the inner surface to describe the cyclic shakedown and degradation. Following the advantages of the ACC-2 model, the constitutive equations are simply formulated based on the consistency condition for the inner yield surface. The model is conveniently implemented in a finite element code using a stress integration scheme similar to the Modified Cam Clay model. The simulation results are highly consistent with experimental data from drained and undrained isotropic cyclic triaxial tests in normally consolidated saturated clay under both one-way and two-way loadings.

     

Numerical modeling and neural networks to identify model parameters from piezocone tests: II. Multi‐parameter identification from piezocone data

This paper completes the study presented in the accompanying paper, and demonstrates a numerical algorithm for parameter prediction from the piezocone test (CPTU) data. This part deals with a development of neural network (NN) models which are able to map multi‐variable input data onto typical geotechnical characteristics and constitutive parameters of the modified Cam clay model, which has been applied in this study. The identification procedure is designed for the coupled hydro‐mechanical boundary value problem in normally‐and lightly overconsolidated clayey soils including partially drained conditions that may appear during cone penetration. The NN models are trained with pseudo‐experimental measurements derived with the aid of the numerical model of the piezocone test, presented in the accompanying paper. Different input configurations containing CPTU measurements and some complementary data are studied with respect to the accuracy of predicted parameter values. Finally, the performance of the developed NN predictors is tested with field CPTU data which are derived from three well‐documented characterization sites, and the obtained predictions are compared with benchmark laboratory results. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of constitutive models on the numerical analysis of underground constructions

The constitutive model frequently used in numerical calculations of tunnel excavation is linear-elastic perfectly plastic with a Mohr–Coulomb (MC) failure criterion. Generally, this leads to shallower and wider surface settlement troughs than those observed experimentally. It is therefore necessary to use adapted constitutive models for the design of underground works. In this paper, three constitutive models are implemented in a two-dimensional simulation of an underground excavation in plane strain: a linear-elastic perfectly plastic model (the MC model), an elastoplastic model with isotropic hardening [the hardening soil (HS) model, Schanz et al., Beyond 2000 in computational geotechnics, Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 281–290, 1999] and an extension of this model which implies an evolution of the stiffness modulus in the small-strain range according to the strain level (the HS model with small-strain stiffness “HS-Small”, Benz, Small-strain stiffness of soils and its numerical consequences. Ph.D. thesis, Universitat Stuttgart, 189 pp., 2007). The study is based on the results of drained triaxial compression tests representing an overconsolidated clay (Gasparre, Advanced laboratory characterisation of London clay. Ph.D. thesis, Imperial College London, 598 pp., 2005); and is then applied to a shallow tunnel. The impact of the constitutive model is highlighted as well as the limits of the simplest constitutive model.     

Ground disturbance caused by shield tunnelling in a stiff, overconsolidated clay

Attewell, P.B. and Farmer, I.W., 1974. Ground disturbance caused by shield tunnelling in a stiff, overconsolidated clay. Eng. Geol., 8: 361–381.

Some of the factors affecting ground deformation around shield tunnelling excavations in stiff clays are considered. There is particular reference throughout the paper to an analysis and interpretation of measured ground deformation around a 4.146-m diameter, hand-excavated, shield-driven tunnel at a nominal axis depth of 29.3 m in the overconsolidated London Clay. The maximum surface settlement was found, by precise levelling, to be 6.1 mm but the shape of the transverse surface settlement profile conformed to a normal probability curve only up to the time of shield passage. Of the contributory ground losses at the tunnel, yield of the clay at the tunnel face appears to dominate to the extent of generating up to 50% of the eventual surface settlement. Measurement evidence suggests a rate of yield at the face that is 2 to 3 times the radial yield over the shield and implies that up to about one-fifth of the surface settlement could be attributed to radial yield into the grouted sections of the erected tunnel lining.     

Development and validation of a 3D numerical model for TBM–EPB mechanised excavations

A 3D numerical model for mechanised excavations is presented, which is capable of simulating the overall process of excavation and construction of a tunnel when a TBM EPB (Tunnel Boring Machine–Earth Pressure Balance) is used.The main construction aspects of a mechanised excavation are modelled. Their influence on calculated ground displacements are investigated by means of a series of parametric analyses.With the aim of testing the performance of the proposed 3D numerical model, a series of 25 Class C predictions has been carried out. Case Histories related to the construction of the 1995–2003 Madrid Metro Extension Project were considered for this purpose.As a general rule, the results obtained with the Modified Cam–Clay model closely fit in situ measurements. When the Linear-Elastic or the Mohr–Coulomb models are used, it is not as easy to summarise the results obtained, as higher fluctuations are observed around in situ measured data. A good agreement is also shown when the distribution of horizontal displacements along depth is considered.For some sections, the mechanised excavation model is not capable of reproducing the high values of the surface settlements measured in situ. A closer look at the results shows that mixed face conditions are found for these cases, with the TBM excavating through layered soil formations having sharply different mechanical behaviour.     

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.