On the modeling of the state dependency of granular soils

Experimental studies have revealed that principal elements of the mechanical behavior of granular soils like the angles of internal peak friction and dilatancy are highly influenced by the combined effect of soil density and mean principal effective stress. In the literature, various empirical correlations between these elements and some parameters indicating soil state have been suggested. Herein, by using two well-known empirical expressions for state dependent peak friction and dilatancy angles, proper constitutive equations are derived and implemented in a stress ratio-based bounding surface plasticity framework. It is shown that the modified model is capable of simulating sand response in either loose or dense states using a unique set of parameters. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.