A Constitutive Model for the State Dependent Behavior of Sand-Structure Interfaces

Soil-structure interfaces transfer loads from structures to soil masses and play an important role in the bearing capacity and load-deformation response of geotechnical structures. It has been observed that the interface state has great influence on the dilation, the peak and ultimate shear strength of interfaces. In this paper, using the general framework of a conventional bounding surface plasticity model, a sand-structure interface model is suggested. Several elements of the model are related to the interface state. Comparing the model predictions with experimental data, it has been shown that the proposed model is capable of simulating the state dependent behavior of sand-stricture interfaces using a unique set of parameters.

Keywords:

Sand , critical state , plasticity theory , dilation , peak shear strength