Soil modelling: South East Asia: October-November 2010

3. The most widely used soil model: Mohr-Coulomb

David Muir Wood
d.muirwood@dundee.ac.uk
Elastic-perfectly plastic Mohr-Coulomb model
Mohr-Coulomb familiar as a strength/failure model
limiting stress ratio characterised by frictional strength
convert to stress ratio M
'a '1 1 sin '

'r '3 1 sin '
q 3'a 'r 6 sin '
M
p' 'a 2'r 3 sin '

combine with isotropic elastic stiffness model

aim: to produce elastic-plastic stiffness matrix
strain increment stress increment
 Mohr-Coulomb failure; elastic strains
failure locus divides stress plane into
elastic and inaccessible regions
plasticity only occurs for stress states
on failure locus: q/p'=M
stress increments implying q/p'>M not
possible

assume strain increment divided into elastic and plastic components

= e + p
elastic strain accompanies any change in stress
p' K 0 p p 1 / K
e e
0 p'
e or
e
q 0 3G q q 0 1 / 3G q
stiffness compliance
 What are the deformations at yield/failure?

work conjugate
strain increments
plotted on local axes
parallel to
corresponding stress
axes

assume that yielding mobilises a plastic mechanism

mechanism defines ratio (not magnitude) of plastic strain increments
pp pp M *
M * or
p
q q
p
1

where is an arbitrary scalar multiplier

 Stiffness matrix: consistency condition

for plastic strains, stress

change lies along failure locus
Mp' + q = 0

p ' K p ' 0 K
p'
0 p
K
e
0
K K

p p p p p p p 0 M *

0
e

0

K p

p e e p
q3G 0 30G 03

q 0q 3G 0 q q
q G 3 qG q q 0q 3G 1

combine and rearrange K 0 p

M 1

0 3G q

K 0 M *
M 1
0 3G 1
Stiffness matrix which stiffness? elastic/plastic?

stiffness formulation: calculate stress increments

from total strain increments
p' K 0 1 MM * K 2 3M * GK p


q 0 3G KMM * 3G 3MGK q
2
9G

elastic predictor and plastic corrector

implementation:
we do not initially if know
elasticwhether
prediction produces
a strain a stress
increment state
will be lying
in inaccessible
elastic or plasticregion beyond failure locus, plastic correction
required to bring stress state back to failure locus
if plastic: p' 3GK 1 M * p


q KMM * 3G M MM * q
 Plastic dissipation? Associated flow?
if plastic:
p' 3GK 1 M * p


q KMM * 3G M MM * q

confirm that q = Mp'

asymmetric unless M = M* (associated flow)
plastic work Wp = p'pp + qqp =(M M*)p'qp
plastic work Wp = 0 for M = M* (associated flow)
physically unreasonable
(but basis of bearing capacity calculations etc)
 Mohr-Coulomb model: typical response

typical response in constant p' test

dilation/compression depends on sign of M*
 standard elastic-perfectly
plastic Mohr-Coulomb model
non-associated plastic flow
M* M

simplicity
sharp stiffness changes
tangent stiffness either
elastic or zero
continuing volume change
Mohr-Coulomb model: fitting to data?

standard model available in all

geotechnical finite element programs
subjectivity in choice of parameters:
stiffness G, K;
strength M;
dilatancy M*
exercise
Mohr-Coulomb model: system/element response

system response for example, footing shows progressive

yielding even though model for individual soil elements is
elastic-perfectly plastic
exercise response of two element box model
 Summary

elastic-perfectly plastic Mohr-Coulomb model is most

widely available constitutive model for soils
associated plastic flow is not physically reasonable
choice of soil parameters requires engineering
judgement (exercise)
 active: x = Ka z
z x = z
z > x
x > z

passive: x = Kp z

Mohr-Coulomb failure
 x = Ka z
z x = z

stress path: x = z

x = Kp z

initial stress state: Ka < Ko < Kp (z constant)

general stress path: x = z
 x = Ka z
z
x = z
zo + z

stress path: x = z

x = Kp z
zo

Ko zo x

active failure when Ko zo + z = Ka (zo + z)

z /zo = (Ko Ka)/(Ka - ) (for > Ka)
 x = Ka z
z
x = z

stress path: x = z

x = Kp z
zo

Ko zo x

passive failure when Ko zo + z = Kp (zo + z)

z /zo = (Kp Ko)/( - Kp) (for > Kp)
 x = Ka z
z
x = z

stress path: x = z

x = Kp z
zo

Ko zo x

strains to failure: z = (1 + )(1 - [1 + ]) z/E

x = (1 + )([1 - ] - ) z/E
Exercise: Plane strain isotropic elastic Mohr-Coulomb
element under general stress path

Assume = 0.25, = 30
1. Plot relationship between normalised strain to (active or
passive) failure Ez/zo and initial state Ko and stress path
2. Plot relationship between normalised strain to (active or
passive) failure Ex/zo and initial state Ko and stress path

What happens if Kp > > Ka ?