Non-coaxial version of Rowe's stress-dilatancy relation

Non-coaxiality occurs when the directions of the principal plastic strain increments and the principal stresses deviate. Extensive experimental data have now conclusively shown that plastic flow in granular soils is non-coaxial particularly during loadings involving rotation of the principal stress directions. One way to integrate the effects of non-coaxiality is by modifying the expressions for energy dissipation and stress-dilatancy used in modeling plastic deformation of granular soils. In this regard, the paper's main objective is to derive a non-coaxial version of Rowe's stress-dilatancy relation, thereby making it more general and applicable to loadings involving principal stress rotation. The paper also applies Rowe's non-coaxial stress-dilatancy equation in the determination of the effects of principal stress rotation in granular soils during simple shear loading conditions. Previous experimental data from simple shear tests on sand are used to validate the proposed non-coaxial version of Rowe's stress-dilatancy relation. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.