On the mechanics and modeling of interfaces between granular soils and structural materials

The behavior of interfaces between granular soils and structural construction materials has an important impact on the monotonic and cyclic response of many soil-structure interaction (SSI) systems. Understanding the mechanics and modeling of these interfaces is an important step towards a safe and effective design and analysis of SSI problems. An extensive literature search for a 'one-stop shop' providing a comprehensive exposition on the mechanical characteristics and numerical modeling approaches of granular soil-structure interfaces yielded less than encouraging results. This paper seeks to bridge this knowledge gap in as concise manner as possible. To this end, the effects of the essential elements of the SSI problem, including soil and structural features as well as loading conditions, on the deformation and stress transformation mechanism of the interface are critically examined. Simple and advanced interface constitutive modeling methods are discussed, and implementation techniques of interface elements in finite element codes are explained. Additionally, a method to incorporate the effect of particle breakage to improve the capabilities of an elasto-plastic constitutive simulation of the cyclic accumulative contraction in granular interface modeling is introduced.