An elastoplastic evaluation of the stress state around cylindrical openings based on a closed multiaxial yield surface

Abstract

AbstractThere are many applications encountered in geo‐engineering where there is a need to evaluate the stress state around circular openings. This paper presents a new analytical solution for evaluating the stresses around a cylindrical excavation in an elastoplastic medium defined by the closed MSDPu yield surface. The proposed formulation takes into account the 3D stress geometry with a plasticity criterion that intersects the mean stress axis on the positive (compressive) and negative (tensile) sides. The results shown here illustrate how the stress distribution and yielding zone size are affected by various influence factors. Validation of the proposed formulation is made by comparing calculated results with existing analytical solutions and a numerical simulation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.