A peridynamics model for strain localization analysis of geomaterials

SummaryGeomaterials such as sand and clay are highly heterogeneous multiphase materials. Nonlocality (or a characteristic length scale) in modeling geomaterials based on the continuum theory can be associated with several factors, for instance, the physical interactions of material points within finite distance, the homogenization or smoothing process of material heterogeneity, and the particle or problem size-dependent mechanical behavior (eg, the thickness of shear bands) of geomaterials. In this article, we formulate a nonlocal elastoplastic constitutive model for geomaterials by adapting a local elastoplastic model for geomaterials at a constant suction through the constitutive correspondence principle of the state-based peridynamics theory. We numerically implement this nonlocal constitutive model via the classical return-mapping algorithm of computational plasticity. We first conduct a one-dimensional compression test of a soil sample at a constant suction through the numerical model with three different values of the nonlocal variable (horizon) δ. We then present a strain localization analysis of a soil sample under the constant suction and plane strain conditions with different nonlocal variables. The numerical results show that the proposed nonlocal model can be used to simulate the inception and propagation of shear banding as well as to capture the thickness of shear bands in geomaterials at a constant suction.