Mathematical Modelling of Venetian Sediment Behaviour Using Generalized Plasticity

The paper is concerned with the modelling of the heterogeneous and highly stratified Venetian sediment behaviour within a theoretical framework known as Generalized Plasticity. Starting from an existing formulation developed for sands, modifications are introduced into the constitutive equations in order to overcome some limitations of the original model and to develop a simple and reliable procedure for calibrating the constitutive parameters, with particular reference to Venetian soils, which range from silty sands to silty clays. The key point in the new formulation is the use of a material state parameter, whose main goal is to allow unified modelling of soil behaviour over a wide range of stress levels and void ratios. The approach is validated by comparing the new model predictions with experimental results of drained compression tests on natural and reconstituted Venetian soil samples, having different grain size distibutions, under various initial state and confining pressure conditions.