A cyclic elastoplastic-viscoplastic constitutive model for soils

Abstract

An elastoplastic-viscoplastic constitutive model for soils is presented in this study, based on an original approach concerning viscous modelling. In this approach, the viscous behaviour is defined by internal viscous variables and a viscous yield surface. The model has been developed from a basic elastoplastic model (CJS model) by considering an additional viscous mechanism. The evolution of the viscous yield surface is governed by a particular hardening called ‘viscous hardening’. This model is able to explain the time-dependent behaviour of soils such as creep (primary, secondary and un-drained creep rupture), stress relaxation and strain rate effects in static and cyclic loadings. The existing problems in the classical elasto-viscoplastic models related to the plasticity failure, the rapid loading and the cyclic loading are solved in the proposed model. The physical meanings and the identification strategy of model parameters are clearly given. The validation on certain triaxial test results and the simulation of cyclic triaxial test indicate the capacity of this model in prediction of time-dependent behaviour of clayey soils.

Keywords:

• elastoplasticity
• viscoplasticity
• creep
• relaxation
• strain rate
• viscous hardening