Generalized strain probing of constitutive models

Advanced material constitutive models are used to describe complex soil behaviour. These models are often used in the solution of boundary value problems under general loading conditions. Users and developers of constitutive models need to methodically investigate the represented soil response under a wide range of loading conditions. This paper presents a systematic procedure for probing constitutive models. A general incremental strain probe, 6D hyperspherical strain probe (HSP), is introduced to examine rate‐independent model response under all possible strain loading conditions. Two special cases of HSP, the true triaxial strain probe (TTSP) and the plane‐strain strain probe (PSSP), are used to generate 3‐D objects that represent model stress response to probing. The TTSP, PSSP and general HSP procedures are demonstrated using elasto‐plastic models. The objects resulting from the probing procedure readily highlight important model characteristics including anisotropy, yielding, hardening, softening and failure. The PSSP procedure is applied to a Neural Network (NN) based constitutive model. It shows that this probing is especially useful in understanding NN constitutive models, which do not contain explicit functions for yield surface, hardening, or anisotropy. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A constitutive model for granular materials with grain crushing and its application to a pyroclastic soil

A constitutive model for granular materials is developed within the framework of strain–hardening elastoplasticity, aiming at describing some of the macroscopic effects of the degradation processes associated with grain crushing. The central assumption of the paper is that, upon loading, the frictional properties of the material are modified as a consequence of the changes in grain size distribution. The effects of these irreversible microscopic processes are described macroscopically as accumulated plastic strain. Plastic strain drives the evolution of internal variables which model phenomenologically the changes of mechanical properties induced by grain crushing by controlling the geometry of the yield locus and the direction of plastic flow. An application of the model to Pozzolana Nera is presented. The stress–dilatancy relationship observed for this material is used as a guidance for the formulation of hardening laws. One of the salient features of the proposed model is its capability of reproducing the stress–dilatancy behaviour observed in Pozzolana Nera, for which the minimum value of dilatancy always follows the maximum stress ratio experienced by the material. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A hierarchical approach for constitutive modelling of geologic materials

A hierarchical concept is proposed for the development of constitutive models to account for various factors that influence behaviour of (geologic) materials. It permits evolution of models of progressively higher grades from the basic model representing isotropic hardening with associative behaviour. Factors such as non-associativeness and induced anisotropy due to friction and cyclic loading, and softening are introduced as corrections or perturbations to the basic model. The influence of these factors is captured through non-associativeness manifested by deviation from normality of the plastic strain increments to the yield surface, F. Details of four models: isotropic hardening with associative behaviour, isotropic hardening with non-associative behavioural anisotropic hardening and strain-softening with a damage variable are presented. They are verified with respect to laboratory multiaxial test data under various paths of loading, unloading and reloading for typical soils, rock and concrete. The proposed concept is general, yet sufficiently simplified in terms of physical understanding, number of constants and their physical meanings, determination of the constants and implementation.     

Explicit solutions for the instantaneous undrained contraction of hollow cylinders and spheres in porous elastoplastic medium

In this article we present closed‐form solutions for the undrained variations in stress, pore pressure, deformation and displacement inside hollow cylinders and hollow spheres subjected to uniform mechanical pressure instantaneously applied to their external and internal boundary surfaces. The material is assumed to be a saturated porous medium obeying a Mohr–Coulomb model failure criterion, exhibiting dilatant plastic deformation according to a non‐associated flow rule which accounts for isotropically strain hardening or softening. The instantaneous response of a porous medium submitted to an instantaneous loading is undrained, i.e. without any fluid mass exchange. The short‐term equilibrium problem to be solved is now formally identical to a problem of elastoplasticity where the constitutive equations involve the undrained elastic moduli and particular equivalent plastic parameters. The response of the model is presented (i) for extension and compression undrained triaxial tests, and (ii) for unloading problems of hollow cylinders and spheres through the use of appropriately developed closed‐form solutions. Numerical results are presented for a plastic clay stone with strain hardening and an argilite with strain softening. The effects of plastic dilation, of the strain softening law and also of geometry of the cavity on the behaviour of the porous medium have been underlined. Analytical solutions provide valuable benchmarks enabling various numerical methods in undrained conditions with a finite boundary to be verified. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Constitutive model for cyclic behaviour of cohesionless sands

This paper presents a constitutive model for describing the stress-strain response of sands under cyclic loading. The model, formulated using the critical state theory within the bounding surface plasticity framework, is an upgraded version of an existing model developed for monotonic behaviour of cohesionless sands. With modification of the hardening law, plastic volumetric strain increment and unloading plastic modulus, the original model was modified to simulate cyclic loading. The proposed model was validated against triaxial cyclic loading tests for Fuji River sand, Toyoura sand and Nigata sand. Comparison between the measured and predicted results suggests that the proposed modified model can capture the main features of cohesionless sands under drained and undrained cyclic loading.     

Modelling of concrete response to fluctuating load

An elastoplastic constitutive model for concrete subjected to cyclic loading conditions is presented. The model is an extension of a recently proposed constitutive concept.⁷ An initial active loading process is described, using the conventional framework of the rate independent theory of plasticity. An appropriate hardening/softening parameter is introduced which allows one to model the sensitivity of material characteristics to varying confining pressure, including a smooth transition from stable to unstable response. For stress histories that include stress reversals, the formulation invokes a set of neutral loading loci defining the conditions of the neutral state.⁸ The field of hardening moduli is specified through an appropriate interpolation rule which enables one to simulate adequately the effect of cyclic degradation of the material. The performance of the model is verified for some typical cyclic loading histories, and the results are compared with existing experimental data.     

不同水化状态下的压实膨胀土应力-应变-强度特征

为探讨水化状态对饱和压实膨胀土应力-应变-强度特征的影响,以压实度为95%的荆门弱膨胀土为研究对象,开展了2种典型水化状态下的固结与三轴试验,其中第1种水化状态采用常规饱和方法,第2种水化状态为试样自由膨胀至稳定状态。结果表明：（1）受变形约束条件与渗径的影响,不同水化状态下体膨胀率有较大差别;（2）第2种水化状态下的饱和压实膨胀土具有更大的硬化指数λ与膨胀指数κ、较小的弹性剪切模量,其有效内摩擦角为第1种水化状态下的77.2%,体现出膨胀土饱和强度的变动性;（3）2种水化状态下的固结曲线均呈现出明显的屈服现象,其屈服应力分别为123.2 kPa与94.5 kPa;（4）第1种水化状态下,低围压下试样应变软化与剪胀,高围压下应变强化与剪缩;第2种水化状态下试验围压范围内均发生剪缩和轻微的应变软化;（5）2种水化状态下试样在固结与剪切过程中均表现出超固结性,这种超固结性并非完全由先期固结压力所致,而是试样受荷过程中膨胀受到约束造成的;（6）不同水化饱和状态下初始孔隙比不同,膨胀势也不同,膨胀势与外部约束条件、排水条件、应力状态相互作用,造成其应力-应变-强度特征的差异性。     

Post failure behaviour of a rock mass under the influence of triaxial and true triaxial confinement

In this paper results of triaxial and true triaxial testing conducted on physical models of a rock mass are used to describe its post failure behaviour. The specimens comprised of three continuous joint sets and were prepared from blocks of sand lime model material. The testing was performed using a True Triaxial System (TTS) developed by the authors. The results show strain hardening, strain softening and plastic behaviour in the simulated rock mass specimens depending upon joint geometry and stress state. Expressions are suggested to estimate post peak modulus in triaxial and true triaxial stress conditions. Finally, a zonation table is proposed to assess the strain hardening, softening and plasticity behaviour of a rock mass material with the help of joint geometry and confining stress conditions at site.     

Comparison of continuous and discontinuous constitutive models to simulate concrete behaviour under mixed‐mode failure conditions

The paper presents detailed FE simulation results of concrete elements under mixed‐mode failure conditions according to the so‐called shear‐tension test by Nooru‐Mohamed, characterized by curved cracks. A continuous and discontinuous numerical two‐dimensional approach was used. In order to describe the concrete's behaviour within continuum mechanics, two different constitutive models were used. First, an elasto‐plastic model with isotropic hardening and softening was assumed. In a compression regime, a Drucker–Prager criterion with a non‐associated flow rule was used. In turn, in a tensile regime, a Rankine criterion with an associated flow rule was adopted. Second, an isotropic damage constitutive model was applied with a single scalar damage parameter and different definitions of the equivalent strain. Both constitutive laws were enriched by a characteristic length of micro‐structure to capture properly strain localization. As an alternative approach, the extended finite element method was used. Our results were compared with the experimental ones and with results of other FE simulations reported in the literature. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fibre reinforced sands: from experiments to modelling and beyond

Based on hypotheses derived directly from experimental observations of the triaxial behaviour, a constitutive model for fibre reinforced sands is built in this paper. Both the sand matrix and the fibres obey their own constitutive law, whereas their contributions are superimposed using a volumetric homogenization procedure. The Severn‐Trent sand model, which combines well‐known concepts such as critical state theory, Mohr‐Coulomb like strength criterion, bounding surface plasticity and kinematic hardening, is adopted for the sand matrix. Although the fibres are treated as discrete forces with defined orientation, an equivalent continuum stress for the fibre phase is derived to allow the superposition of effects of sand and fibres. The fibres are considered as purely tensile elements following a linear elastic constitutive rule. The strain in the fibres is expressed as a fraction of the strain in the reinforced sample so that imperfect bonding is assumed at the sand‐fibre interface. Only those fibres oriented within the tensile strain domain of the sample can mobilize tensile stress—the orientation of fibres is one of the key ingredients to capture the anisotropic behaviour of fibre reinforced soil that is observed for triaxial compression and extension loading. A further mechanism of partition of the volume of voids between the fibres and the sand matrix is introduced and shown to be fundamental for the simulation of the volumetric behaviour of fibre‐reinforced soils. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nonlinear analysis of NATM tunnel construction with the boundary element method

This paper presents a novel approach to the simulation of NATM tunnel construction using the Boundary Element Method (BEM) as principal numerical method. This new approach has the advantage that only the excavation surface, the possible plastic zones and the tunnel lining have to be discretised. The whole rock mass is represented by the BEM whereas the Finite Element Method (FEM) is used to represent the tunnel lining only. Thus, a general coupling strategy for coupling three-dimensional boundary elements with shell finite elements (shotcrete) and beam finite elements (steel arches) is presented. To achieve realistic results the effect of hydration of the shotcrete and yielding of the steel arches is considered in the excavation process. Furthermore, the nonlinear rock behaviour is modelled more realistically by using a powerful hierarchical constitutive model which considers a large range of rock materials. The combination of these ideas results in higher user-friendliness and efficiency. Some verification tests and practical applications in tunnelling are presented.     

Kinematic hardening plasticity formulation of small strain behaviour of soils

An objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the small strain model developed by the authors can be incorporated into the conventional kinematic hardening plasticity framework to predict pre‐failure defor mations. The constitutive model described in this paper is constituted by three elliptical yield surfaces in triaxial stress space. Two inner surfaces are rotated ellipses of the same shape, representing the boundaries of the linear elastic and small strain regions, while the third surface is the modified Cam clay large‐scale yield surface. Within the linear elastic region, the soil behaviour is elastic with cross‐coupling between the shear and volumetric stress–strain components. Within the small strain region, the soil behaviour is elasto‐plastic, described by the kinematic hardening rule with an infinite number of loading surfaces defined by the incremental energy criterion. Within the large‐scale yield surface, the soil behaviour is elasto‐plastic, described by kinematic and isotropic hardening of the small strain region boundary. Since the yield surfaces have different shapes, the uniqueness of the plastic loading condition imposes a restriction on the ratio between their semi‐diameters. The model requires 12 parameters, which can be determined from a single consolidated undrained triaxial compression test. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microplane constitutive model for porous isotropic rocks

The paper deals with constitutive modelling of contiguous rock located between rock joints. A fully explicit kinematically constrained microplane‐type constitutive model for hardening and softening non‐linear triaxial behaviour of isotropic porous rock is developed. The microplane framework, in which the constitutive relation is expressed in terms of stress and strain vectors rather than tensors, makes it possible to model various microstructural physical mechanisms associated with oriented internal surfaces, such as cracking, slip, friction and splitting of a particular orientation. Formulation of the constitutive relation is facilitated by the fact that it is decoupled from the tensorial invariance restrictions, which are satisfied automatically. In its basic features, the present model is similar to the recently developed microplane model M4 for concrete, but there are significant improvements and modifications. They include a realistic simulation of (1) the effects of pore collapse on the volume changes during triaxial loading and on the reduction of frictional strength, (2) recovery of frictional strength during shearing, and (3) the shear‐enhanced compaction in triaxial tests, manifested by a deviation from the hydrostatic stress–strain curve. The model is calibrated by optimal fitting of extensive triaxial test data for Salem limestone, and good fits are demonstrated. Although these data do not cover the entire range of behaviour, credence in broad capabilities of the model is lend by its similarity to model M4 for concrete—an artificial rock. The model is intended for large explicit finite‐element programs. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the volumetric deformation of reconstituted soils

This paper reviews the phenomenon of volumetric hardening, which is a common feature of the mechanical behaviour of many geo‐materials. Three different material idealizations have been proposed to describe this hardening, and the paper contains the corresponding mathematical formulation. These idealizations vary in their complexity and hence their ability to capture different aspects of real material behaviour. Any of the three postulates can be implemented into most constitutive models. As a demonstration of their capabilities, the postulates have been implemented into the well‐known modified Cam Clay model, and computations are made with the resulting new constitutive models. It is seen that the new models can successfully represent important features of soil behaviour such as plastic yielding associated with loading inside the current virgin yield surface, the loosening or densifying of granular soils caused by shearing, and the accumulation of both volumetric and distortional deformation caused by repeated drained loading over a large number of cycles. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Implicit integration of a mixed isotropic–kinematic hardening plasticity model for structured clays

In recent years, a number of constitutive models have been proposed to describe mathematically the mechanical response of natural clays. Some of these models are characterized by complex formulations, often leading to non‐trivial problems in their numerical integration in finite elements codes. The paper describes a fully implicit stress‐point algorithm for the numerical integration of a single‐surface mixed isotropic–kinematic hardening plasticity model for structured clays. The formulation of the model stems from a compromise between its capability of reproducing the larger number of features characterizing the behaviour of structured clays and the possibility of developing a robust integration algorithm for its implementation in a finite elements code. The model is characterized by an ellipsoid‐shaped yield function, inside which a stress‐dependent reversible stiffness is accounted for by a non‐linear hyperelastic formulation. The isotropic part of the hardening law extends the standard Cam‐Clay one to include plastic strain‐driven softening due to bond degradation, while the kinematic hardening part controls the evolution of the position of the yield surface in the stress space. The proposed algorithm allows the consistent linearization of the constitutive equations guaranteeing the quadratic rate of asymptotic convergence in the global‐level Newton–Raphson iterative procedure. The accuracy and the convergence properties of the proposed algorithm are evaluated with reference to the numerical simulations of single element tests and the analysis of a typical geotechnical boundary value problem. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

岩石应变软化本构模型建立及NR-AL法求解研究

针对岩土工程材料应变软化问题及有限元对其数值计算时切线刚度矩阵负定造成求解困难的问题进行研究。建立了基于Drucker-Prager（D-P）强度准则的岩石弹塑性应变软化本构模型,本构积分算法采用一种完全隐式返回映射算法,它具有无条件稳定和精确的特点,详细论述了如何进行本构模型的程序化求解;考虑弧长法在判断切线刚度矩阵正定性导致效率低的缺点,在弹塑性增量有限元方程的迭代计算中尝试采用Newton-Raphson法和arc-length法（NR-AL法）联合迭代求解的思路,即在结构未达到极限荷载前采用NR迭代法,而当结构接近极限荷载时转换为AL法控制迭代,从而使结构越过峰值点进入软化区直至破坏,NR-AL法汲取了2者迭代求解中具有的优势;利用C++语言对所建应变软化模型的本构求解和弹塑性增量有限元方程迭代求解过程给予程序实现,应用所编程序进行数值计算,分析了D-P理想弹塑性模型、应变软化模型、应变硬化模型计算的应力-应变曲线的区别,同时将应变软化模型计算结果与试验数据进行了对比。研究结果表明：所建应变软化本构模型可以较好地模拟岩石材料的峰后软化特性,能够揭示峰后应变软化特性和破坏机制,同时NR-AL法能够求解由于应变软化造成的负刚度问题,也克服了单独使用弧长法时判断切线刚度矩阵正定性效率低的缺点。