Must critical state theory be revisited to include fabric effects?

• Published in: Acta geotechnica Vol. 11; no. 3; pp. 479 - 491
• Main Author: Dafalias, Yannis F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Complex Fluids and Microfluidics; Constitutive relationships; Engineering; Fabrics; Failure; Foundations; Geoengineering; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Granular materials; Hydraulics; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Modelling; Orientation; Research Paper; Soft and Granular Matter; Soil mechanics; Soil Science & Conservation; Solid Mechanics; Fabric effects; Critical state; Soil anisotropy; Soil plasticity
• ISSN: 1861-1125; 1861-1133
• DOI: 10.1007/s11440-016-0441-0

Critical state (CS) is a physically observed state of granular materials at failure, based on which the critical state theory (CST) was founded. CST attempts to describe analytically the material response when CS failure occurs and constitutes the framework within which constitutive modeling techniques have been developed in the last half-century. The conditions of CST defined as necessary and sufficient to characterize CS do not include fabric orientation of material samples. In the present work, this absence of fabric is discussed in light of a newly developed anisotropic critical state theory (ACST) that enhances the classical CST by introducing an additional condition that fabric must satisfy at CS. The use of ACST framework in constitutive modeling is presented in a generic way, usable in conjunction with various constitutive models that comply with CST. Answers to some fundamental questions are attempted or suggested, e.g., as to whether the conditions of classical CST are necessary and sufficient for CS to occur, whether the ACST is simply a convenient supplement to CST or a necessary enhancement, and if the latter is true, the merits and open questions that arise. The presentation focuses on the justification and thoughts behind the proposed specific features of ACST, provides clarifications not made before, while several suggestions and disclaimers are made, and alternate approaches are proposed for further investigations on the subject matter.