Introduction

Conventional elasto-plastic models, which assume elastic behavior within the yield surface,
have difficulties in simulating the behavior of some soils when subjected to cycles of unloading
and reloading. To improve modeling the concept of bounding surface plasticity was introduced.
While such models are an improvement over conventional elasto-plastic models, they still have
some deficiencies. For example during unloading soil behavior is assumed to be elastic and this
restricts the degree of coupling between volumetric and deviatoric component of behavior.

A way of improving the framework further is to introduce a small kinematic yield surface
(bubble), which moves within the outer bounding surface. Within the bubble behavior is elastic,
whereas outside the bubble it is elasto-plastic. As the stresses change with in the outer
bounding surface, the bubble moves and hence the term ‘kinematic yield surface’. Al-Tabbaa
(1987) and Al-Tabbaa and Wood (1989) developed a model with a single kinematic yield
surface, with the conventional modified Cam Clay yield surface acting as a bounding surface.
Stallenbrass and Taylor (1997) extended this model, incorporating two nested kinematic yield
surfaces. The additional surface in their model is called a ‘history’ surface and was added so
that the model could simulate both yield at small strains and the effect of recent stress history.

Behavior of a Kinematic Yield Surface

In this section the conceptual framework of bubble models is presented by considering the
behavior of a model with a single kinematic yield surface. These concepts are, however, easily
extended to deal with models which have multiple yield surfaces.

The main components of the model are an outer bounding surface and a kinematic yield
surface (bubble), which moves within the outer surface, see Figure A. The bubble acts in the
same way as a conventional yield surface in the sense that purely elastic behavior occurs for
stress states which remain within the bubble. However, if the stress state attempts to cross the
perimeter of the bubble, elasto-plastic behavior is initiated and the bubble is dragged along the
stress path. This elasto-plastic behavior is controlled by the bubble acting as yield surface, in
combination with a plastic potential and plastic hardening/softening law associated with the
bubble. Although the bubble moves within the outer bounding surface, it never crosses it.
When the stress state reaches the bounding surface the bubble is oriented such that it lies
completely within the surface. In such a condition the bounding surface essentially acts as the
yield surface and behavior is controlled by this surface and its associated plastic potential and
plastic hardening/softening law. In essence, if the stress state is on the bounding surface, the
elasto-plastic behavior is exactly the same as would be oriented with a conventional elasto-
plastic model, in which the bounding surface acts as the yield surface.
The behavior of the model is best understood by considering the example shown in figure
below. In this example a soil element is assumed to be initially k 0 normally consolidated to a
stress state represented by a point ‘a’ in figure below. Since the soil element has been
subjected to normal consolidation, its behavior has been controlled by the bounding surface,
and the relative positions of the bonding surface and bubble at the end of consolidation are
shown in the figure shown below. If the soil element is now unloaded such that it follows the
stress path ‘abcd’, the sequence of events as follows. On first unloading from point ‘a’ the stress
path moves inside the bubble and behavior is elastic, with both the bubble and the bounding
surface remaining stationary in stress space.

As the unloading continues, the stress path traverses the inside of the bubble, promoting
further elastic behavior, until it reaches the other side of the bubble at point ‘b’. With further
unloading the behavior of the soil element become elasto-plastic. The bubble is now dragged
along the stress path and, because plastic strains are developed, both the bubble and the
bounding surface change size if their hardening/softening laws are related to plastic strain
and/or plastic work. After unloading to point‘d’ the relative position of the bubble and the
bounding surface to the stress state are as indicated in the figure below. If the soil element is
now reloaded such that its stress state travels along the stress path ‘def’, it initially behaves
elastically because the stress path moves inside the bubble. Again, during this period of elastic
behavior the bubble and bounding surface remain stationary. With sufficient loading the stress
state reaches the other side of the bubble, i.e. point e on figure, and elasto plastic behavior is
initiated. Further loading takes the stress state to point ‘f’, where the bubble meets the
bounding surface. Any subsequent loading causes the bubble and the bounding surface to
move together.
 Figure A. Conceptual behavior of bubble model

To fully define the model, information must be provided for the shape of the bounding surface
and its associated plastic potential and hardening/softening law. Similar information must also
be provided for the bubble. A translation rule, controlling the movement and relative
orientation of the bubble, is also required. This rule must be carefully defined to ensure that
the bubble becomes tangential

And completely within the bounding surface when the stress state approaches the bounding
surface. It is also necessary to provide mapping functions which control how the plastic
modulus changes as the bubble moves. In this respect, it is important to ensure that as the
bubble approaches that associated with the bounding surface. To clarify the above qualitative
description, the single bubble model proposed by Al-Tabbaa and Wood (1989) is briefly
described below.

Al-Tabbaa and Wood Model

This model is fully described by Al-Tabbaa (1987) and Al-Tabbaa and Wood (1989) and is a
simple example of a single bubble model.

Bounding Surface and Bubble

In bubble model the elliptical yield surface of the modified Cam clay model is used to represent
the bounding surface. The equation of this surface is written as follows:-

The inner Kinematic yield surface (i.e. bubble) is assumed to have the same shape as the
bounding surface, but to be of a smaller size. The equation for this surface is:-

Where pα’ and Jα represent the stress state associated with the center of the bubble and R
represents the ratio of the size of the bubble to that of the bounding surface, see the Figure
below.
 Figure B: Single Bubble Model

When the soil is yielding, the consistency condition (i.e. dF1=0) requires that:

If the stress state is within the bubble, behavior is governed by the isotropic elastic constitutive
equations, with a constant Poisson’s ratio, µ, and a variable bulk stiffness given by:

Otherwise, behavior is elasto-plastic, with the plastic potential assumed to

be the same as the yield function, given by equation (8.66) (i.e. associated plasticity), and the
following hardening/softening law:

Al-Tabbaa and Wood assumed that the virgin consolidation and swelling lines are straight in
lnv-lnp’, Where as in the conventional formulation of modified Cam clay these lines are assumed
to be straight in v-lnp’ space. Hence, λ* and k* are different to λ and k.

Movement of bubble
The bubble moves such that it translate within the outer modified cam clay bounding surface,
following a rule that guarantees that the bubble and bounding surface can touch at a common
tangent, but never intersect. This rule is illustrated graphically in Figure c and it states that the
center of the bubble should always move along a vector r, which joins the current stress state,
C, to its conjugate point on the bounding surface, D.

Figure C: Translation of bubble

The change in position of the bubble, when plastic straining occurs, has two components: one is
associated with the translation of the bubble along the vector r, while the other is associated
with the change in size of the bubble due to isotropic hardening/softening. This implies that
when the bubble and the bounding surface are in contact at the current stress state, the vector
r=0 and the change in the position of the bubble is entirely due to expansion/contraction. Thus
the general expression for the change of position of the bubble is: