Stress and Strain in Soil

Element
Martin Wijaya, S.T., Ph.D.
Stress and Strain
Hooke’s Law

The elastic and shear moduli for soils depend on

the stress history, the direction of loading, and the
magnitude of the applied strains (Budhu, 2010)

2 1    
 zx   zx  zx E = Elastic Modulus
E G
G = Shear modulus
E  = Poisson’s ratio
G zx = shear strain
2 1   
Principal Plane and Principal Stress
Fig 8.6a: Soil body subjected to forces F1 to F4

Fig 8.6b shows stress acting on the element P in the

direction parallel to the arbitrarily chosen axes x and y

Plane AA pass through an element making an angle a

with the X Axis.

Fig. 8.6c Equilibrium condition of the element is

analyzed by considering stresses (normal and shear)
acting on the faces of triangle ECD
Principal Plane and Principal Stress
Summation of forces in x direction:
 x dy   xy dx   cos a ED   sin a ED  0
dy  dx tan a
ED  dx sec a

Summation of forces in Y direction:

 y dx   xy dy   sin a ED   cos a ED  0
Solving both equations, we get:
 y x  y  x
  cos 2a   xy sin 2a
2 2
1

2
 y   x  sin 2a   xy cos 2a
Principal Plane and Principal Stress
Principle Plane: Plane where shearing stress () = 0

1

2
 y   x  sin 2a   xy cos 2a  0
2 xy
tan 2a 
 y  x
Principal Plane and Principal Stress
Determining plane at which the normal stress is
maximum/minimum can be done by differentiating
equation below with respect to a

 y x  y  x
  cos 2a   xy sin 2a
2 2
d
  y sin 2a   x sin 2a  2 xy cos 2a  0
da
2 xy
tan 2a 
 y  x

Angle at which normal stress is

maximum/minimum are equals with the angle
at which shear stress equals to 0.

Hence, principal plane is also a plane where

normal stresses are maximum and minimum.
Hooke’s Law for Principal plane
Plane Strain Condition
• Strain in 1 direction is 0, typically into the drawing

Budhu (2010)  1  2  3
1   
E E E
 2  1  3
2    0  2    1   3 
E E E
 3  2  1
3   
E E E
Plane Strain Condition
• Strain in 1 direction is 0, typically into the drawing
 1  2  3  1  2 1  2 3  3
1       
E E E E E E E
1   
Budhu (2010)
1 
E
1        1  1   1        1
2

E E
3 1
E
3

1
1  1     1   3 
E 

With the same method:

1
3  1     3   1 
E
 Plane Strain Condition
• Strain in 1 direction is 0, typically into the drawing
In matrix form:

Budhu (2010)
 Axial Symmetry/Axisymmetric Condition
• Radial stress (r) and circumferential stress (q) are equal

Budhu (2010)