Numerical Simulation and Performance Evaluation of Sand Behavior Models Under Monotonic and Cyclic Loading

Geotechnical structures subjected to complex loading conditions require thorough numerical simulations using constitutive models that are able to replicate mechanical soil behavior in monotonic and cyclic conditions, therefore, the performance of constitutive soil models applied to sand is evaluated based on numerical simulations of triaxial tests. These tests were conducted on the Fontainebleau sand as part of the SOLCYP project. For monotonic behavior inspection, three constitutive models are adopted: the elastic-perfectly plastic model Mohr-Coulomb, the elastoplastic model Sanisand (2004 version) and the hypoplastic model with the Intergranular Strain Anisotropy (ISA), while for cyclic behavior inspection, Mohr-Coulomb will be discarded since it is not adapted for cyclic loading. The tests used for the comparison are monotonic drained triaxial test and cyclic undrained triaxial test. The analysis showcases of the capabilities and drawbacks of the different constitutive models mentioned above and sheds light on the importance of a proper parameter calibration to give satisfactory results in monotonic or cyclic conditions.