ABSTRACT
An elasto-plastic model for soft clays is described, incorporating a rotational component of hardening to represent the anisotropy of plastic behaviour. Procedures are proposed for determining appropriate values for the two additional soil constants associated with the rotational hardening and for evaluating the parameters describing the initial state of the soil. The proposed methodology is illustrated by application to a natural soft sensitive clay from Finland. Comparisons of model simulations with experimental results from multi-stage triaxial tests on the Finnish clay highlight the achievements and remaining weaknesses of the elasto-plastic model.
