The analysis of finite elasto‐plastic consolidation

A theoretical formulation and a numerical solution method are proposed for the problem of the time dependent consolidation of an elasto‐plastic soil subject to finite deformations. The soil is assumed to be a two‐phase material with a skeleton which may yield according to a general yield criterion with plastic flow governed by a general flow law, and whose pore fluid flows according to Darcy's Law. Governing equations are cast in a rate form and constitutive laws are expressed in a frame indifferent manner. The method of analysis is illustrated by several examples of practical interest for both a soil with an elastic skeleton and a soil with an elasto‐plastic skeleton which obeys a Morh–Coulomb yield criterion and a non‐associated flow law.