A SHEARING STRAIN MODEL FOR CYLINDRICAL STRESS STATES

A shearing strain model for soil was developed that includes soil behavior under compressive normal and shear stresses great enough to attain maximum compaction. The model was developed for a clay and a clay loam from triaxial data with various stress loading paths. This model relates the ratio of maximum shear stress acting on the cylindrical sample (tau(max)) to major principal stress (sigma(1)), to the ratio of maximum natural shearing strain ((gamma) over bar (max)) to natural volumetric strain occurring after shear stress is initiated ((epsilon) over bar (vss)). The model accurately describes the shearing distortion of triaxial soil samples under cylindrical stress loading prior to yielding by plastic flow. This model predicts soil shearing strain for input stress states that realistically represent field conditions.