Yielding of Clays in States Wetter than Critical

Synopsis The consequences of the assumption that soil is an isotropic, elasto-plastic, continuous medium are examined. A new energy equation is proposed, well supported by experimental evidence, from which a stress-strain relationship is developed for virgin and lightly overconsolidated clays. An alternative stress-strain relationship is derived from the “normality condition” specified in the theory of plasticity, and this is shown to be identical to that proposed by Roscoe and Poorooshasb (1963). These two relationships are then combined to give, in terms of only four fundamental soil constants, a unique stress-strain relationship, simple equations for a new state boundary surface and a unique yield locus or plastic potential. The shape of these surfaces necessitates a complete revision of currently accepted pictures of the mechanism of virgin consolidation and entails the possibility of the occurrence of shear distortion under isotropic stress. The concept is supported by experimental evidence obtained ...