An effective combined framework for modelling the time-dependent behaviour of soft structured clays

A constitutive framework for the simulation of the time-dependent behaviour of soft structured clays has been developed from the combination of a number of existing modelling approaches. The formulation accounts, in a natural way, for time-dependent phenomena such as loading rate dependency, stress relaxation, ageing, and creep deformations under constant load. In addition, the effect of structure is accounted for. To demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach, a specific model based on this framework is described and applied to the simulation of a number of relevant laboratory tests from the literature.