Simple nonlinear model for elastic response of cohesionless granular materials

A constitutive model based on hyperelasticity is proposed to capture the resilient (elastic) behavior of granular materials. Resilient behavior is a widely accepted idealization of the response of unbound granular layers of pavements, following shakedown. The coupling property of the proposed model accounts for shear dilatancy and pressure-dependent behavior of the granular materials. The model is calibrated using triaxial resilient test data obtained from the literature. A statistical comparison is made between the predictions of the proposed model and a few of the prominent models of resilient response. The proposed coupled hyperelastic model yields a significantly better fit to the experimental data. It also offers a computational efficiency when implemented in a classical nonlinear finite elemental framework.