Stability of Saturated Granular Systems as a State Problem A First-Principles Perspective

This preprint presents a first-principles perspective on the stability of saturated granular systems by formulating stability as a state problem rather than a purely path-dependent process. Starting from fundamental mechanical considerations—conservation laws, gravity, buoyancy, and geometric constraints—stability is interpreted as a property of energetically admissible configurations. Transitions commonly described as failure events are discussed as state transitions, triggered by external disturbances but caused by the loss of energetic admissibility of the preceding state. The paper does not introduce a new constitutive model and does not aim to replace classical soil mechanics; instead, it provides a complementary conceptual framework that clarifies the scope and limitations of process-based descriptions. A specific realization of this perspective, referred to as the Static Enthalpy Equilibrium (SEE) approach, is briefly outlined as an illustrative example. The primary purpose of this work is to make the underlying conceptual foundations explicit and to provide a unifying reference for related analytical and experimental studies.