Critical State Mechanics

of Soil
Dr Wassel AL Bodour
General
• Shear strength Increases with soil density
• For clays: shear strength and stiffness
increases with OCR
• Pore water pressure and evolution of
volumetric strains are interrelated
• Shear strength and compressibility are
interrelated
General
• Framework that integrate strength and
compressibility into a common structure.
• Critical State Soil Mechanics (CSSM)
provides stress based framework to serve this
purpose
• CSSM provides a strong base for several on-
linear plasticity models (CCM, MCCM,
CASM)
Objectives
• Introduction to critical state soil mechanics
• Review of the stress-strain and
volumetric/pore pressure behavior of clay and
sand under this framework
• Introducing the concept of the “State
Parameter”
• Engineering properties of soils based on
CSSM
• Plasticity Models involves CSSM
 Stress-Strains of Clays Under CSSM
• Tri-axial testing
• Cambridge convention
– Mean effective normal stress
– Stress difference (Deviator Stress)
– Shear Strain

– Volumetric Strain
 Stress-Strains of Clays Under CSSM

• Consolidation Stage in Triaxial

• Isotropic Consolidation
• K0 Consolidation (maintains zero lateral
strains during shearing)
• Unconsolidated Test( test skips this stage)
 Stress-Strains of Clays Under CSSM
• Shearing Stage in Triaxial
• Drained/Undrained
• Drained: Δu =0.0 (Slow)
• Drained: allows volumetric strains εp
• Undrained: Δu # 0.0
• Undrained: εp = 0.0
• Lateral and Vertical stress variations
• Extension Test
 Stress-Strains behavior of Clay
• Strain hardening: increases with axial strain ɛa
monotonically
• Softening: q increases with ɛa and then decreases with ɛa
after reaching a peak q
• Over consolidated clays (Drained vs Undrained)
• Normally consolidated Clays (Drained vs Undrained)
• The over consolidated specimen tends to increase in
volume during the tri-axial test (ɛp>0)
• Normally Consolidated Clays: contraction in specimen
volume (ɛp<0)
 Stress-Strains behavior of Clay
• Strain hardening/softening
 Stress-Strains behavior of Clay
• Strain hardening/softening
 Critical State for Clay Shearing
• Initial Conditions:
• Water content
• A, B: NCC
• C,D: OCC
 Critical State for Clay Shearing
• Drained test
 Critical State for Clay Shearing
• Undrained
 Critical State for Clay Shearing
• Stress path
 Critical State for Clay Shearing
• For the undrained tests, the loading paths in the plot of
v – p′ are horizontal because the volume remains
constant
• For drained tests, the NC specimen contracts in volume,
while the OC specimen dilates during shearing.
• For both drained and undrained tests of NC or OC
specimens, the loading paths in the plot of q – p′ appear
to terminate on a straight line passes through the origin
• The end points of all tests appear to approach a narrow
band of a curve in the plot of v – p′, the shaded area
(straight in the plot of v – ln p′)
 Critical State for Clay Shearing
• The strait line of the End Points was termed as
the “ Critical State Line (CSL)(Roscoe 1958)
• In the v-lnp’ space: CSL is parallel to Isotropic
Compression line (ICL)
• ICL: can be developed from Isotropic tri-axial
Drained test, or Consolidation
 Critical State for Clay Shearing

𝑞 = 𝑀𝑝′

𝜐 = Γ − 𝜆𝑙𝑛𝑝′
 Critical State for Clay Shearing
• During shear loading, soils reach critical state
when the q/p’ ratio becomes constant value
• Critical state usually occurs at strains ≥ 20%
• Γ and λ : critical state constants
• when a soil is subjected to shearing, it ultimately
reaches a state in which the soil behaves as a
frictional fluid with a constant volume and a
constant ratio of shear stress to mean normal
stress, regardless of the initial state of the soil
 STRESS–STRAIN BEHAVIOR AND
CRITICAL STATE OF SANDS
• Similar to Over consolidated clays
• is similar to normally consolidated clay
• stress–strain
• strain-dilatancy
STRESS–STRAIN BEHAVIOR AND
CRITICAL STATE OF SANDS
Dense Sand Loose Sand
• Similar to OCC • Similar to NCC
• Drained • Drained
• Undrained • Undrained
• The stress–strain • The stress–strain
• Strain-dilatancy • Strain-dilatancy
STRESS–STRAIN BEHAVIOR AND
CRITICAL STATE OF SANDS
 Critical State Soil Parameters
• ICL is parallel to CSL
• ICL bounds the CSL in (v-lnp’) space
 Critical State Soil Parameters
• The slope λ is equivalent to cc considering the
plot space
• The slope of all recompression lines, k, is
equivalent to cs
• Intercept of all lines (ICL, CSL, and RCL) is
defined by the unit pressure p’ =1
 Critical State Soil Parameters
• For ICL
𝜐 = 𝜐𝜆 − 𝜆𝑙𝑛𝑝′

• For CSL
𝜐 = Γ − 𝜆𝑙𝑛𝑝′

• For RCL
𝜐 = 𝜐𝑘 − 𝑘𝑙𝑛𝑝′
 Critical State Soil Parameters
• The state parameter ξ
Soil loading history and current state can be
represented by its relative position from the CSL
in the v – ln p′ space.
The vertical distance in specific volume ν from
the current state to the CSL is a measure

𝜉 = 𝜐 + 𝜆𝑙𝑛𝑝′ − 𝛤
 Critical State Soil Parameters
• The state parameter ξ
• Case-1: the initial state of the soil is above the
CSL
• The state parameter ξ is > 0
• Drained Conditions
• The soil contracts
• Undrained Conditions
• Pore pressure increases
• p′ reduces
• ν remains constant
 Critical State Soil Parameters
• The state parameter ξ
• Case-2: the initial state of the soil is below the
CSL
• The state parameter ξ is < 0
• Drained Conditions
• The soil dilates
• Undrained Conditions
• p′ increases
• pore pressure decreases
• ν remains constant
 Critical State Soil Parameters
• Soils on the normal consolidation or virgin
compression line, OCR is 1, and the state parameter
reaches a maximum value: ξR = (λ − κ)lnr
• Clays, at a state between the virgin compression and
CSL, its OCR>1 (ξ >0) lightly over consolidated, and
• Undrained shearing generates positive pore pressure
(p′ decreases), exactly like NCC.
• The typical behavior of OCC is turned up when ξ<0,
where OCR > r.
Critical State Soil Parameters
 Critical State Soil Parameters
• Sands
• Critical state friction angle 30◦–35◦
 Critical State Soil Parameters
• Sands
• Critical state friction angle 30◦–35◦
• The critical state friction angle reflects the
minimum drained friction angle
• The sand is sheared with no dilatancy.
• Mainly a function of the mineral content of the
sand and is independent of density and state of
stress
 Critical State Soil Parameters
• Sands