A generalized nonlinear failure criterion for frictional materials

A generalized nonlinear failure criterion formulated in terms of stress invariants is proposed for describing the failure characteristics of different frictional materials. This failure criterion combines a power function and a versatile function in the meridian and deviatoric plane, respectively, which is a generalization of several classic criteria, including the Tresca, Drucker-Prager, Mohr-Coulomb, Lade-Duncan and Matsuoka-Nakai failure criterion. The procedure for determination of the strength parameters was demonstrated in detail. Comparisons between the failure criterion and experimental results were presented for uncemented/cemented Monterey sand, normally consolidated Fujinomori clay, rockfill, concrete, Mu-San sandstone and granite, which reveal that the proposed failure criterion captures experimental trend quite well.