Method to Introduce the Cementation Effect into Existing Elastoplastic Constitutive Models for Soils

Abstract

This study proposes a new method to introduce the cementation effect into existing elastoplastic constitutive models for soils. The mechanical properties of cement-treated soil are evaluated via element tests and compared with those of naturally deposited clay. The similarities and differences between cement-treated soils and naturally deposited clays are studied, focusing on two states, the undisturbed and remolded states. The effective stress for cement-treated soils incorporating an internal state variable representing the cementation effect is newly defined to describe the mechanical properties of cement-treated soils. Moreover, by applying this extended effective stress to the super-subloading yield surface (SYS) Cam-clay model, which is an elastoplastic model for soils based on the skeleton structure concept, the scope of this constitutive model is extended to include cement-treated soils. The cementation effect introduced by the proposed method allows reproducing the mechanical behavior of the cement-treated soil. Finally, a brittle behavior not described at the element level can be obtained, leading to a soil–water coupled finite deformation analysis incorporating the proposed constitutive model.