Unsaturated structured soils: constitutive modelling and stability analyses

Unsaturated soils: From constitutive modelling to numerical algorithms

This paper presents an overview of constitutive modelling of unsaturated soils and the numerical algorithms for solving the associated boundary value problems. It first discusses alternative stress and strain variables that can be used in constitutive models for unsaturated soils. The paper then discusses the key issues in unsaturated soil modelling and how these issues can be incorporated into...

A constitutive model for unsaturated cemented soils under cyclic loading

On the basis of plastic bounding surface model, the damage theory for structured soils and unsaturated soil mechanics, an elastoplastic model for unsaturated loessic soils under cyclic loading has been elaborated. Firstly, the description of bond degradation in a damage framework is given, linking the damage of soil’s structure to the accumulated strain. The Barcelona Basic Model (BBM) was cons...

A Binary-Medium Constitutive Model for Artificially Structured Soils

Modelling plasticity of unsaturated soils in a thermodynamically consistent framework

Constitutive equations of unsaturated soils are often derived in a thermodynamically consistent framework through the use a unique ’effective’ interstitial pressure. This later is naturally chosen as the space averaged interstitial pressure. However, experimental observations have revealed that two stress state variables were needed to describe the stressstrain-strength behaviour of unsaturated...

Elasto-plastic Modelling of Unsaturated Soils : an Overview

This paper presents an overview of elasto-plastic modelling of unsaturated soils. Alternative stress and strain variables that have been used in constitutive models for unsaturated soils are discussed. The use of an effective stress equation may simplify constitutive relations, but often result in a stress space that depends on the material state. In this case, the constitutive behaviour is emb...