Abstract
Generally, discontinuous rock masses show both strain-hardening and strain-softening behaviors. Therefore, in numerical studies of rock mass deformation, it is very important to construct a strain-softening constitutive model.
This paper presents an elasto-plastic constitutive model for a rock interface. The constitutive model is based on stress history tensor which derives both strain-hardening and strain-softening characteristics. The procedure to determine values of material parameters in the constitutive model is discussed based on the experimental result on mortar interface.
The applicability of the constitutive model is numerically studied by means of the finite element analysis. The comparison between the numerical and experimental results on interfaces is carried out. It is found that the constitutive model simulates both strain-hardening and strain-softening behaviors of interfaces.
