The Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is a fundamental constitutive law used in geotechnical engineering, but strictly speaking, it works well only under axisymmetric stress states. Finding its three-dimensional equivalent has been one of the most attractive, but challenging, tasks for geotechnical researchers in the past hundred years. The SMP failure criterion is the most reasonable three-dimensional extension of the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion from the point of view of its physical meaning, mathematical expression and geometrical presentation. The Cam-clay model is a fundamental constitutive model in soil mechanics, but it is only suitable for normally consolidated clay under triaxial compression stress states. Therefore, to integrate the Cam-clay model with the SMP criterion and then to extend it to sand and other geomaterials is one of the fundamental tasks in geotechnical engineering.

This book introduces the SMP criterion, the integration of the SMP criterion with the well-known Cam-clay model, and the application of the SMP criterion to the general elastoplastic constitutive models for geomaterials like clay, sand and unsaturated soil. In addition to the theoretical development of constitutive models, the book contains high-quality experimental data obtained from conventional and true triaxial tests on various soils. The scope and the level of the book ensure that it will be a valuable resource for postgraduate students, academics and geotechnical engineering professionals alike.

Hajime Matsuoka is Professor of Civil Engineering at the Nagoya Institute of Technology in Japan and the author of a number of books. His research interests include Earth Reinforcement and Vibration Reduction by Soilbags, in-situ Direct Shear Test and Constitutive Models for Soils.

De’an Sun is Professor of Engineering at the Department of Civil Engineering, Shanghai University. His current research interests include Unsaturated Soil Mechanics and Soil Constitutive Modelling.

Professors Matsuoka and Sun were awarded the Technical Development Prize from the Japanese Civil Engineering Society in 2004.