Modeling Temperature‐ and Rate‐Dependent Behavior of Soft Soils: A Thermo‐Visco‐Hypoplastic Approach

Abstract

Temperature effects become important in a number of geotechnical applications, such as nuclear waste disposal facilities, buried high‐voltage cables, pavement, energy geostructures and geothermal energy. On the other hand, soft soils act time‐ and strain rate dependent. Both temperature and strain rate influence soil behavior, affecting stiffness, strength, and deformation even under constant stress levels. A model to predict temperature and loading rate effects on soil behavior is presented in this article. The model is based on a simple visco‐hypooplastic model for clays and encompasses key aspects of coupled rate‐ and temperature‐dependent soil behavior such as (partially irreversible) thermal expansion, heating‐induced irreversible compression, stress history, drained heating/cooling cycles, as well as mechanical and thermal creep, incorporating isotachs, and isotherms.