ABSTRACT
Traditional critical state soil mechanics makes no reference to the role of anisotropic fabric at critical state, and addresses only isotropic fabric expressed by the critical state void ratio. Nevertheless, anisotropic fabric effects have been shown to be dominant at least in the initial stages of sand response. Whether these effects diminish with plastic shear strain and whether the critical state itself is independent of anisotropic fabric effects or not, is still a subject of scrutiny in the literature. Beyond doubt is the fact that fabric and its evolution need to be carefully considered for accurate modeling of the anisotropic behavior of sand.
