Micromechanical analysis of kinematic hardening in natural clay (Q1028152)

A microstructural model for clay is used to investigate the induced anisotropy due to various combinations of strain paths. The authors conclude that for the stress paths with several successive directions the yielding condition does not occur simultaneously for all contact planes. On the other hand, it is shown that due to the change of loading path the principal axis of the contact stress distribution can rotate. A good agreement between numerical simulations and experimental results is emphasized.