Uniform Nonlinear Constitutive Model and Parameters for Clay in Different Consolidation Conditions Based on Regression Method

Abstract

The nonlinear constitutive relations of clay are investigated considering different initial conditions. Highly compressible clay is selected as the test sample. Two groups of tri-axial compression tests are performed, respectively, afterK0consolidation and isotropic consolidation. On the basis of the framework ofE~vmodel, a uniform nonlinear constitutive model is proposed by fitting the test data. With the average slope of the unloading-reloading curve selected as the unloading modulus, the unloading function is constructed as the loading-unloading criterion. Moreover, a comparison between the experimental stress-strain curves and the results predicted by the constitutive model is made. It is shown that the prediction is reasonable, which can reflect the stress-strain behavior of the soil under theK0consolidation and isotropic consolidation conditions. The maximum relative error of the two series of curves is not remarkable, less than 6%.