Examining the predictive capabilities of a bounding surface plasticity-based hyperelastic constitutive model for unsaturated granular soils

Abstract

The performance of a recently developed state-dependent constitutive model for unsaturated granular soils is evaluated. The model employs the Bounding Surface plasticity framework and evaluates elastic strains assuming hyperelastic behavior. To realistically simulate the deformation of unsaturated granular soils, the mechanical behavior was modeled without a purely elastic component. The inherent hydro-mechanical coupling was realized by introducing a Bishop-type effective stress, an appropriate work-conjugate variable, and a soil-water characteristic curve function. Relevant details about the model development, parameter estimation, and the assessment of the model’s predictive capabilities are presented. The model performance is evaluated with experimental data obtained for drained and constant-water stress paths. With a given a set of parameter values, the model realistically simulates the main features that characterize the shear and volumetric behavior of unsaturated granular soils over a wide range of matric suction, density, and net confining pressure. This is found to be true for both drained and constant-water stress paths.