CE637A – Constitutive Modelling of Frictional Materials (2019-20 Sem-2)

Practice Question Set – 5

Topic: Sand Models

1. Determine the expression for undrained failure stress ratio for cam-clay model with
modified hardening variable.
2. What is undrained instability? Determine the undrained instability condition for extended
Mohr-Coulomb model.
3. For non-associated cam-clay model, derive the analytical expression for undrained stress
path. Also determine the expression for hardening modulus.
4. Why original or Modified cam-clay model is incapable to predict static liquefaction.
5. Solve following Numerical Problems:
a.

b.

A stage wise vertical excavation (1.5 m depth) has been proposed on a fully saturated dense
sand strata. In each stage 0.5 m cut will be made along with proper lateral support to restrict
soil collapse. Assuming the soil behavior as linear elastic – (Mohr-Coulomb) plastic with
hyperbolic hardening, determine the following for a soil block A (shown in Fig):
i) Stress ratio (q/p’) after each stage of excavation.
ii) Maximum possible depth of vertical cut to avoid any
1.5 m (@0.5 m)

failure at point A
iii) Total elastic and plastic volumetric deformation after each
2m

stage of excavation.
iv) Stress path in q – p’ space highlighting all the important
points. A
v) Deviatoric stress vs. strain response, and volumetric vs.
deviatoric strain response.
Soil parameters: unit weight of soil 20 kN/m3 (ignore any
effect of ground water table), K = 1500 kPa, ν = 0.3, a = 0.01, M = 1.0, ηp = 1.636, ηy = 0.761,
use earth pressure coefficient K0 = 0.66 for calculation of lateral stress. Hardening law:
 y  p   sp  sp  a 

c.
The following test results are obtained from three drained triaxial tests carried out on same
sand of different initial densities at 100 kPa isotropic compression. It has been found that only
the medium dense sand reaches to critical state. If the sand behaviour is predicted through
cam-clay model with plastic volume and plastic shear strain dependent hardening, determine
the model parameters.