Anisotropic bounding-surface plasticity model for the cyclic shakedown and degradation of saturated clay

The cyclic behaviours of embedded offshore structures under different cyclic loading levels are related to the cyclic shakedown and degradation of the surrounding soils. In the present study, a damage-dependent bounding-surface model based on a newly proposed hardening rule was developed to predict the cyclic shakedown and degradation of saturated clay and the effect of the initial anisotropic stress state. By extending the Masing’s rule to the bounding-surface plasticity theory, the stress reversal point is taken as the generalised homological centre of the bounding surface. With movement of the generalised homological centre, at lower stress amplitudes, the cyclic process ends at a steady state, and cyclic shakedown is reached. At higher stress amplitudes, a damage parameter related to the accumulated deviatoric plastic strain is incorporated into the form of the bounding surface, which is hence able to contract to model degradations in stiffness and strength. To take into account the effects of initial anisotropic conditions on the cyclic behaviour of soils, an initial anisotropic tensor is introduced in the bounding surface. The developed model is validated through undrained isotropic and anisotropic cyclic triaxial tests in normally consolidated and overconsolidated saturated clay under both one-way and two-way loadings. Both cyclic shakedown and degradation are well reproduced by the model, as is the anisotropy effect induced by the initial anisotropic consolidation process.