Micromechanical alternatives to phenomenological hardening plasticity

Abstract

Phenomenology is often applied in science through curve-fitting experimental results. This can be quite a useful exercise as long as it is not possible to derive a theory that can describe the observed results using first principles. Some of the most classical models of soil mechanics are in fact heavily based on curve fitting procedures. Such models - e.g., critical state soil mechanics and kinematic hardening plasticity - are kept being used albeit the possibility to derive laws that are based on first principles. This may be fine if the mathematical structure of the alternative models is more difficult to apply. Here, however, we demonstrate that this is not always the case. It is possible to derive model alternatives to critical state soil mechanics and kinematic hardening plasticity that are based on first principles and that are equivalently mathematically simple.