A kinematic hardening constitutive model for natural clays with loss of structure

A rate-independent constitutive model for natural clays is presented, formulated within the framework of kinematic hardening with elements of bounding surface plasticity. The modelling framework is intended to include effects of damage to structure caused by irrecoverable plastic strains caused by sampling, laboratory testing, or geotechnical loading. The incorporation of a structure measure allows the size of the bounding surface to decay with plastic deformations. This model can be seen as a logical extension from the Cam-clay model. The steady fall of stiffness with strain towards the Cam-clay value is controlled by a particular interpolation function. This ensures a smooth degree of approach between a kinematically hardening bubble (which is the boundary of the elastic region) and the bounding surface during their relative translation with stress history. The model describes the essential phenomena of pre-failure behaviour of natural clays: stiffness variation with strain, volumetric change accompanying distortion, peak strength at small strains. Illustrative numerical results for common geotechnical experiments on a low-sensitivity Swedish clay demonstrate the potential of the proposed model.