Stress-strain behavior of soils: Evolution and Importance

Abstract

The models that use finite elements are widely used in Geotechnical Engineering to investigate the stress-strain behavior of the soil under both static and dynamic conditions. In practice, some constitutive models do not include important aspects such as stiffness non-linearity concerning stress state, the anisotropy, the dependence of the plastic hardening on the volumetric deformations, and neither the effect of the recent stress history. Although the use of computational software has become popular in recent decades, knowledge of the constitutive models, the proper selection of input parameters, and user expertise play a very important role. This work begins with a review of the Critical State Theory as the basis for the development of the different constitutive models (of which a brief account is made). In addition, other topics are addressed, such as mechanical parameters necessary for modeling assessing in the laboratory, the influence of the model used, and the use of retro-analysis. Finally, the importance of an adequate selection of the numerical model and the input data are discussed in simple practical cases.

Manuscript received: August 20, 2021
Manuscript accepted: December 20, 2021