Integration of the modified Cam-Clay model in non-linear finite element analysis

The application of effective stress, elasto-plastic soil models in non-linear finite element analysis is achieved by integrating the rate constitutive equations numerically over a discrete sequence of time steps. The integration algorithm and the tangent stiffness operator of the model control the convergence characteristics of the global iteration solution. This paper presents full details for implementing the Modified Cam Clay constitutive equations in a non-linear finite element analysis using an implicit integration scheme with consistent linearization of the tangent constitutive matrix. Numerical examples of some geotechnical boundary value problems illustrate the accuracy and robustness of the algorithm.