Uncertainty in determining dynamic nonlinear stress-strain relationships

A significant research effort has now been devoted towards the development of more complete or rigorously correct nonlinear soil models, appropriate for use in the solution of earthquake or offshore storm wave loading problems. The primary intent of this research has been to establish soil models which correctly account for nonlinear, hysteretic behavior of soil at higher levels of shearing strain or relative shearing stress (ratio of imposed stress to failure stress). Need for the development of these nonlinear soil models arose from the observation that soils subjected to cyclic loading tests in the laboratory behaved in a nonlinear, hysteretic manner ( Hardin and Drnevich, 1972a ), the realization that equivalent linear analyses sometimes led to inaccurate ground response predictions ( Joyner and Chen, 1975 ; Finn, et al, 1978 ). the availability of computer codes which efficiently handled, nonlinear ground response problems ( Streeter, et al, 1974 ; Joyner and Chen, 1975 ; Taylor and Larkin, 1978 )