Developing a 3D elastoplastic constitutive model for soils: A new approach based on characteristic stress

This paper presents a new approach for the development of an elastoplastic constitutive model to predict the strength and deformation behaviour of soils under general stress conditions. The proposed approach was based on characteristic stress, which considers the effect of the intermediate principal stress on the material strength. Referring to the Cam-clay model, the shear dilatancy equation, plastic potential function and hardening parameter for the developed model were all derived using the characteristic stress. The model predictions indicated that the established model could quantitatively reproduce the negative dilatancy behaviour, positive dilatancy behaviour, and three-dimensional strength properties of soils.