A numerical solution of cavity expansion problem in sand based directly on experimental stress-strain curves: Discussion

Abstract

The author of this discussion would like to thank the authors for their paper. The entire 1961 development of the first author was and should be recognized as a major contribution to the complete understanding and analysis of granular materials, including both dilatancy (volume change due to a change in the octahedral or shear stress) and compressibility (volume change due to a change in the spherical or mean stress). By republishing a modern version of the first author’s thesis (1961), the authors are presenting an important contribution to the classic problem of cavity expansion. The actual discussion is intended to (1) comment on the reference made to Baligh’s (1985) strain path method; (2) analyze the consequences of some simplifications performed in Ladanyi (1961); (3) point out some other contributions to the actual statement of the cavity expansion problem; and (4) simplify and generalize the theory.