Is there future for soft clay modelling?

Other conference contribution, 2024

Constitutive models for natural sensitive clays have significantly evolved since the introduction of critical state models in 1950’s. They can now be
applied with high accuracy to geotechnical engineering problems as part of numerical analyses, thus assisting in geotechnical design. With the current
rate-dependent models that combine initial anisotropy and its evolution, as well as the effects of bonding and destructuration, it is possible to capture the
system-level response of a wide range of geotechnical problems in natural clays. Thus, a question arises if there is need for further developments in soft
soil modelling. The paper will discuss the current state, followed by a discussion on future challenges that necessitate further developments. Despite
the recent progress in model development, a major concern is that the gap between academia and practice is increasingly widening. Consequently, the
geotechnical profession may not yet be able to fully exploit the latest modelling advances and the huge opportunities they offer for digitalisation and generation of training data for low probability events in geotechnics.