NONLINEAR AND CONSTITUTIVE MODELING IN GEOTECHNICAL

ENGINEERING:

FUNDAMENTALS THROUGH APPLICATIONS

By Chandrakant S. Desai

Workshop on Nonlinear Modeling of Geotechnical

Problems: From Theory to Practice
Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA

November 3 & 3, 2005

-- Is there a constitutive model which is applicable
to all materials ?

-- Although our understanding of the material

behavior is growing, there is no model available that
can characterize all materials, in all respects.

-- To understand behavior of material (matter)

completely, one may need to become the material
itself!
From, Desai,C.S., Mechanics of Materials and Interfaces; The Disturbed
State Concept, CRC Press, 2001.
.. Advanced research results for nonlinear geotechnical
systems are not readily used in practice, for design and
WHY?

.. The situation is not that serious , because such results

have been used in practice for some problems,
--Mostly for analysis and for alternative design.
-- After event (forensic) analysis.
.. However, there remains a GAP between research and
practice, particularly for use of results for (routine) design
and analysis.
... Many other disciplines such as aerospace and
electronics engineering adopt research results more
promptly.
REASONS
. Need: Perhaps many geotechnical problems do not
need advanced nonlinear methods.
. Economy and Competition: Often advanced research
may not be warranted for economical designs and to
face competition for routine civil engineering problems.
---- design and fabrication of computer chips
need to improved continually, to make chips smaller
and to face international competition.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
-- Identify problems that need methods from advanced
research.
-- Establish ways to transfer research results to practice:
.. Investigators need to provide research results in a
format that can be readily used by practitioners, e.g.
develop guidelines to prepare papers and reports in
special format, for practice.
.. Organize meeting, workshops, courses, etc. in
which both investigators and practitioners participate,
almost EQALLY. Develop methods to transfer research
methods to practice.
 .. Support applied research and activities that review
and identify available research, e.g. computer and
material models. And to establish commonality and
ranges of application of all (so many) models developed
so far.

.. Give special attention to ways to practice, e.g.

Parameters, how many, optimum number, their physical
meanings and tests to calibrate them; and validation at
both specimen and practical levels.
-- Funding agencies should consider applied research for
transfer to practice; otherwise research results stay ONLY
in published papers and reports.

-- Develop and support ways for interaction between

researches and practitioners: e.g. Special sabbaticals for
researchers in private and government agencies.
• Material Behavior-Constitutive Models : Vital for
Nonlinear Behavior in Geotechnical Problems

• Over the years, many models have been developed

• Difficult to identify for application

• Need: Critical review, identify models with common features

and specific application, establish ranges of applicability of
models with the view to applications
Requirements for Application: Models should be:
-- As Simplified as possible
-- Optimum parameters for significant factors
-- Physical meanings-relate to specific states
-- Easy Determination- Standard Tests

• Validations:
.. Specimen level
.. Practical Problems; Field and laboratory
Simulated
• Transfer to Practice
• Simple vs. Simplified Models
• Simple models not necessarily valid.
• Model and parameters must depend on Factors that affect
the practical behavior.
•A function-model (hyperbola, parabola, spline) may be
called “simple”, but they cannot account for important
factors such as volume change, stress path, plastic
deformations, and directional dependence of strength.
• Such “simple” models often have greater number of
parameters than the advanced or simplified models
• Number of parameters will depend on the practical factors
SIMPLIFIED MODEL More appropriate

• Retains ONLY significant factors that influence the

practical behavior
DISTURBED STATE CONCEPT (DSC) :Unified and
Hierarchical
• Simplified
• Optimum number of parameters
• Easy determination from Standard tests
• Hierarchical: Elastic, Elastoplastic, Creep, Microcracking,
Softening , Healing can be obtained as special cases, i.e.
-- Only parameters for specific model are required
-- If elastic, TWO; if Classical Plasticity (MC), Four;
if critical state SIX, and if HISS, SEVEN to Eight.
However, HISS can account for greater number
of practical factors.
DSC can allow also for
• Interfaces and Joints

• Liquefaction from Fundamental Mechanism

• Validated for Specimen level and practical field and

laboratory data for a wide range of materials: Sands,
Clays, Rocks, Concrete, Asphalt concrete, Metals,
Solders, Silicon
HIERARCHICAL DSC
Fundaments Through Applications

•Connect research with applications and

applications with research in a To-and –Fro
Approach

• Contacts with Practitioners and Use their

knowledge in research

• A way to reduce the GAP

CONCLUSIONS

• Considerable “advanced” research in Geotechnical

Engineering.
• But Gap between research and practice
• How to reduce it?
-- DISCUSS and Develop ways for transfer of research
to practice
One way: Fundamentals Through Applications