A practical constitutive theory based on egg-shaped function in elasto-plastic modeling for soft clay

An exploratory discussion is presented on the application of egg-shaped function in elasto-plastic constitutive analysis for soft clay.Two main tasks of the paper are:1)to propose a complete yield criterion based on egg-shaped function and supplement its definition in the deviatoric section,and then a yield criterion suitable for 3D stress conditions is obtained;2)to elaborate its numerical implementation based on the drained triaxial tests.During the above discussion,a non-associated flow rule is proposed,in which the stress-dilatancy relationship in most classical theory is replaced by a linear dependence between the stress state parameterηand the rotation angleγof the plastic potential surface.Thereafter,isotropic and kinematic hardening behavior is considered by employing the hardening parameter H,which can be expressed as the function of plastic work Wp.Finally,comparisons between numerical results and test data on Taizhou soft clay are made to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model.

Improved slope safety analysis by new Druker-Prager type criterion

Based on Mohr-Coulomb （M-C） criterion, the parameters of Druker-Prager （D-P） criterion for geomaterial were determined under non-associated flow rule, and thus a new D-P type criterion was presented. Two assumptions were employed during the derivation： 1） principal strains by M-C model and D-P model are equal, and 2） the material is under plane strain condition. Based on the analysis of the surface on rt plane, it is found that the proposed D-P type criterion is better than the D-P criterion with M-C circumscribed circle or M-C inscribed circle, and is applicable for stress Lode angle less than zero. By comparing the predicted results with the test data of sand under plane strain condition and other D-P criteria, the proposed criterion is verified and agrees well with the test data, which is further proved to be better than other D--P type criteria in certain range of Lode angle. The criterion was compiled into a finite difference package FLAC3D by user-subroutine, and was used to analyze the stability of a slope by strength reduction method. The predicted slope safety factor from the proposed criterion agrees well with that by Spencer method, and it is more accurate than that from classic D-P criteria.

Energy analysis of stability on shallow tunnels based on non-associated flow rule and non-linear failure criterion

On the basis of upper bound theorem, non-associated flow rule and non-linear failure criterion were considered together.The modified shear strength parameters of materials were obtained with the help of the tangent method. Employing the virtual power principle and strength reduction technique, the effects of dilatancy of materials, non-linear failure criterion, pore water pressure,surface loads and buried depth, on the stability of shallow tunnel were studied. In order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, the solutions in the present work agree well with the existing results when the non-associated flow rule is reduced to the associated flow rule and the non-linear failure criterion is degenerated to the linear failure criterion. Compared with dilatancy of materials, the non-linear failure criterion exerts greater impact on the stability of shallow tunnels. The safety factor of shallow tunnels decreases and the failure surface expands outward when the dilatancy coefficient decreases. While the increase of nonlinear coefficient, the pore water pressure coefficient, the surface load and the buried depth results in the small safety factor. Therefore, the dilatancy as well as non-linear failure criterion should be taken into account in the design of shallow tunnel supporting structure. The supporting structure must be reinforced promptly to prevent potential mud from gushing or collapse accident in the areas with abundant pore water, large surface load or buried depth.

Which Friction Factor Model Is the Best？ A Comparative Analysis of Model Selection Criteria

The ongoing research for model choice and selection has generated a plethora of approaches. With such a wealth of methods, it can be difficult for a researcher to know what model selection approach is the proper way to proceed to select the appropriate model for prediction. The authors present an evaluation of various model selection criteria from decision-theoretic perspective using experimental data to define and recommend a criterion to select the best model. In this analysis, six of the most common selection criteria, nineteen friction factor correlations, and eight sets of experimental data are employed. The results show that while the use of the traditional correlation coefficient, R2 is inappropriate, root mean square error, RMSE can be used to rank models, but does not give much insight on their accuracy. Other criteria such as correlation ratio, mean absolute error, and standard deviation are also evaluated. The AIC （Akaike Information Criterion） has shown its superiority to other selection criteria. The authors propose AIC as an alternative to use when fitting experimental data or evaluating existing correlations. Indeed, the AIC method is an information theory based, theoretically sound and stable. The paper presents a detailed discussion of the model selection criteria, their pros and cons, and how they can be utilized to allow proper comparison of different models for the best model to be inferred based on sound mathematical theory. In conclusion, model selection is an interesting problem and an innovative strategy to help alleviate similar challenges faced by the professionals in the oil and gas industry is introduced.

Correlation functions of gauged linear σ-model

This is the second paper in a series following Tian and Xu(2015), on the construction of a mathematical theory of the gauged linear σ-model(GLSM). In this paper, assuming the existence of virtual moduli cycles and their certain properties, we define the correlation function of GLSM for a fixed smooth rigidified r-spin curve.