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A note on the Lade-Duncan failure criterion
Online Publication Date: 01 January 2006
To cite this Article: Yang, X. Q., Fung, W. H., Au, S. K. and Cheng, Y. M. (2006) 'A
note on the Lade-Duncan failure criterion', Geomechanics and Geoengineering, 1:4,
299 - 304
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A note on the Lade--Duncan failure criterion
X. Q. YANG*, W. H. FUNGz, S. K. AU, and Y. M. CHENG
School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, P.R. China
zDepartment of Building and Construction, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Department of Civil Engineering, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong
Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
(Received 1 December 2005; in final form 16 August 2006)
The non-linear relationship between the internal frictional angle c and the first stress tensor invariant I
1
, together with the cohesion c of geomaterial, is
used to show that the Lade--Duncan failure criterion is a more general failure criterion with a deep physical meaning. It can be used to describe the
strength failure characteristics of sand and normally consolidated soil mass as well as those of cemented geomaterials. As demonstrated for c
e
!c
c
on
p planes, the Lade--Duncan failure criterion reveals the basic mechanical deformation characteristics for geomaterials. The test results for red
sandstone indicate that the differences between the internal frictional angles in the triaxial extension and compression states on p planes will be
reduced as the average principal stress increases.
Keywords: Lade--Duncan failure criterion; Ridge function; Friction angle; Stress tensor invariant; Deviatoric stress tensor invariant
1. Introduction
It is well known that the Lade--Duncan failure criterion (Lade
and Duncan 1975, 1978) meets the convexity requirement for a
wide range of friction angles in three-dimensional stress space
and is widely used in geotechnical engineering calculations. In
order to include cohesion, friction, and curved meridian in a
single model, Lade (1982, 1984) proposed a three-parameter
failure criterion to capture the strength characteristics of geo-
material. Lades investigations showed that the improved three-
parameter criterion gave a better prediction of the failure
strength of geomaterials.
The Lade--Duncan failure criterion (Lade and Duncan 1975,
1978) does not coincide with the Mohr--Coulomb failure criter-
ion at the triaxial extension and compression states at the same
time. This means that, on a pplane with average principal stress
constant, the internal frictional angle c of the geomaterial
gradually increases from the minimum value in the triaxial
compression state to almost the maximum value in the triaxial
extension state as the corresponding Lode angle 0
o
is gradually
increased from -308 to 308. The failure criterion proposed by
Desai (1980) revealed similar behaviour for geomaterials.
These predictions are supported by the experimental data,
which shows that, in the plane strain state, the values of the
internal friction angle are about 10% larger than the values in
the triaxial compression state. van Eekelen (1980) and
Hashiguchi (1978, 2002) both proposed a more complex
mechanical explanation for the mechanism of the Lade--
Duncan failure criterion (Lade and Duncan 1975, 1978).
A further explanation of the Lade--Duncan failure criterion in
terms of micro- and macromechanical deformation mechanisms,
based on the above work and using actual strength test data for
the failure of red sandstone (Li 1990), is presented in this note.
2. Alternative expression for Lade--Duncan
failure criterion
The sign of a stress component is defined as positive for
compression, and we assume that the stress is the effective
stress. Under general stress states, invariants of the stress tensor
are expressed as follows:
I
1
o
ii
1
I
2
o
ij
o
ij
,2 2
I
3
o
ij
o
jm
o
mi
,3 3
J
2
s
ij
s
ij
,2 4
J
3
s
ij
s
jm
s
mi
,3 5
where I
1
, I
2
, and I
3
are the first, second, and third invariants of
the stress tensor respectively, J
2
and J
3
are the second and third
invariants of the deviatoric stress tensor, respectively, and
s
ij
=o
ij
-- I
1
d
ij
/3, where d
ij
is the Kronecker delta, is the
Geomechanics and Geoengineering: An International Journal
Vol. 1, No. 4, December 2006, 299--304
*Corresponding author. Email: xueqiangyang@hotmail.com
Geomechanics and Geoengineering: An International Journal
ISSN 1748-6025 print,ISSN 1748-6033 online 2006 Taylor & Francis
http:,,www.tandf.co.uk,journals
DOI: 10.1080,17486020600970797
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0
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deviatoric stress tensor. The Lode angle is given by
y
s

1
3
sin
1

3
p
2

J
3
J
3,2
2
!
.

6
y
s


6
6
Relationships between the different stress tensor invariants
are as follows:
I
2
I
2
1
,3 J
2
7
I
3
J
3
I
1
I
2
,3 2I
3
1
,27 8
Lade and Duncan (1975, 1978) proposed the following fail-
ure criterion for geomaterials
I
3
1
,I
3
k
1
9
where k
1
is a material parameter. Substituting equations
(7) and (8) in equation (9), and using equation (6), we
obtain
I
1

J
2
p

3

9k
1
k
1
27

I
1

J
2
p
18k
1
sin30
o

3
p
k
1
27
0 10
If we substitute I
1
/
p
J
2
= r sinb in equation (10), we obtain the
following alternative expression:
sin
3
u
9k
1
r
2
k
1
27
sin u
18k
1
sin 30
o

3
p
r
3
k
1
27
0 11
The following identity has a similar format to equation
(11):
sin
3
u
3
4
sinu
1
4
sin3u 0 12
Then r and sin3b are obtained from the identity as follows:
r 2

3k
1
k
1
27
r
13
sin 3u

k
1
27
k
1
r
sin 30
o
14
Define A

k
1
27,k
1
p
; then the three roots of I
1
/
p
J
2
in
equation (10) are
I
1

J
2
p
rsin b
2p
3

3
p
A
sin
p
3

1
3
sin
1
Asin3y
s

!
rsinb
2

3
p
A
sin
1
3
sin
1
Asin3y
s

!
rsin b
2p
3

3
p
A
sin
p
3

1
3
sin
1
Asin3y
s

!
8
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
<
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
:
15
In equation (15), only the first root can satisfy I
1
/
p
J
2
! 0 in the
range --/6 0
o
/6. Therefore the correct solution to
equation (10) is
I
1

J
2
p
2

3
p
A
sin

3

1
3
sin
1
Asin 30
o

!
.

6
0
o


6
16
Rearrangement of equation (16) gives the following alterna-
tive expression for the Lade--Duncan failure criterion:

J
2
p

AI
1
2

3
p g0
o
17
where g(0
o
) is a ridge function given by
g0
o

1
sinf,3 sin
1
Asin 30
o
,3g
.

6
0
o


6
18
Based on equations (17) and (18), the ratio k of
p
J
2c
under
triaxial compression (0
o
= --308) to
p
J
2e
under triaxial exten-
sion (0
o
= --308) on an octahedral p plane with constant I
1
is
k

J
2c
J
2e
r

g,6
g,6

sin,3 sin
1
A,3
sin,3 sin
1
A,3
19
From equation (19), when k
1
= 27, A = 0 and k = 1, and
when k
1
!1, A!1 and k = 2. Therefore for a Lade--Duncan
failure criterion with k
1
!27, Ashould be in the range 0 A1,
and the corresponding k. A value should be in the range 1 k
2. Therefore the ridge function given by equation (18) satisfies
the requirement that k = 1.0,2.0, convexity, and smoothness
in the three-dimensional principal stress space.
Based on equation (17), the value of A for a normally con-
solidated soil mass in which the consolidation pressure varies
only slightly can be assumed to be constant; therefore
p
J
2
is a
linear function of I
1
. Equations (9) and (17) are plotted in the
300 X. Q. Yang et al.
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meridian plane in figure 1(a) and in the octahedral p plane in
figure 1(b). Similar results for the Lade--Duncan failure criter-
ion had been reported by van Eekelen (1980) and Jiang and
Pietruszczak (1987).
3. Further development of the Lade--Duncan
failure criterion
An alternative form of the Lade--Duncan failure criterion is
(Hashiguchi 1978, 2002)
I
3
1
I
3
k
1
12 8
1 sin c
c
1 sin c
c
6
1 sin c
c
1 sin c
c

1 sin c
c
1 sin c
c

2
20
where c
c
is the frictional angle in the triaxial compression state.
The frictional angle c
e
in the triaxial extension state will be
discussed later.
According to the Mohr--Coulomb failure criterion, the ratio k
on an octahedral plane can be written
k
3 sin c
c
3 sin c
c
21
which can be rearranged to give
sin c
c
3
k 1
k 1
22
Now k should be a function of I
1
which satisfies k = 1,2.
The simplest form of this function is
k 1 expjI
1
,f
c
23
where j is a material parameter and f
c
is the uniaxial compres-
sion strength of the geomaterial.
Substituting equation (23) into equation (22) gives
sin c
c

3 expjI
1
,f
c

2 expjI
1
,f
c

24
Substituting equation (24) into equation (20) gives
I
3
1
I
3
k
1
128
13expjI
1
,f
c
,2expjI
1
,f
c

13expjI
1
,f
c
,2expjI
1
,f
c

6
13expjI
1
,f
c
,2expjI
1
,f
c

13expjI
1
,f
c
,2expjI
1
,f
c

13expjI
1
,f
c
,2expjI
1
,f
c

13expjI
1
,f
c
,2expjI
1
,f
c

2
.
25
In the case of a general geomaterial, the principal stress space
should be translated along the hydrostatic axis in order to
include the contribution of the cohesion c and tensile strength
o
t
in the failure criterion (Lade, 1982; Houlsby, 1986). Thus a
constant stress af
c
is added to the normal stress before substitu-
tion in equation (25):
Figure 1. Lade--Duncan failure criterion in three-dimensional principal stress
space.
Lade--Duncan failure criterion 301
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7

o
11
o
11
cf
c
o
22
o
22
cf
c
o
33
o
33
cf
c
26
where a is a material parameter. The value of af
c
reflects the
effect of the tensile strength o
t
of the geomaterial.
Therefore a more general Lade--Duncan failure criterion for
a geomaterial with cohesion cand tensile strength o
t
is given by
I
3
1
I
3
k
1
12 8
1 3 expjI
1
,f
c
,2 expjI
1
,f
c

1 3 expjI
1
,f
c
,2 expjI
1
,f
c

6
1 3 expjI
1
,f
c
,2 expjI
1
,f
c

1 3 expjI
1
,f
c
,2 expjI
1
,f
c

1 3 expjI
1
,f
c
,2 expjI
1
,f
c

1 3 expjI
1
,f
c
,2 expjI
1
,f
c

2
.
27
where the first and the third stress tensor invariants I
1
and I
3
can be
calculated from the new stress tensors o
11
, o
22
, and o
33
.
A similar process to that given in equations (9)--(18) can be
carried out using the following alternative form of equation (27):

J
2
p

A I
1
2

3
p g0
o
28
where
A

k
1
27
k
1
s
29
and
g0
o

1
sinf,3 sin
1
Asin30
o
,3g
.
,6 0
o
,6.
30
Therefore the more general Lade--Duncan failure criterion
contains only two unknown material parameters, j and c,
which can describe both the failure strength characteristics of
the geomaterial, such as friction, tensile strength, or cohesion,
and the curved meridian in the three-dimensional principal
stress space. Equations (27) and (28) are shown in the meridian
plane and in the octahedral plane in figure 2 and figure 1(b),
respectively.
Lade (1982, 1984) modified the Lade--Duncan failure criter-
ion as follows:
I
3
1
I
3
27
!
I
1
p
a

m
j
1
0 31
where p
a
is the atmospheric pressure (expressed in the same
units as the stress) and c, m, and j
1
are material parameters. The
corresponding equations are obtained as follows:
I
3
1
I
3
k

1
27 j
1
I
1
p
a

m
32
A

1
27
k

1
s
33
g

0
o

1
sinf,3 sin
1
A

sin 30
o
,3
.
,6 0
o
,6
34

J
2
p

A

I
1
2

3
p g

0
o
35
Comparison of equations (32) and (27) shows that both k

1
and
k
1
are non-linear functions of I
1
. Their common characteristics is
k

1
values decrease as I
1
is gradually increased. Although equa-
tion (32) is simpler than equation (27), three parameters have to
be identified. Relatively speaking, equation (27), established
using equations (22) and (23), appears to have a more direct
physical meaning for geomaterials than equation (31).
4. Optimization fitting technique
Equation (24) can be rearranged to give
exp
jI
1
f
c

2 sin c
c
3 sin c
c
36
The material parameter j is then expressed as
Figure 2. Lade--Duncan failure criterion in normal stress--shear stress space.
302 X. Q. Yang et al.
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:

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6

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u
g
u
s
t

2
0
0
7

j
ln3 sin c
c
ln2 sin c
c

I
1
,f
c
37
Then the average value j for the n-set true triaxial
failure test data (o
11
/f
c
, o
22
/f
c
, o
33
/f
c
) of a geomaterial is
given by
j
X
n
i1
ln3 sin c
ci
ln2 sin c
ci

I
1i
,f
c
" #
0
n 38
The corresponding values of
p
J
2m
are calculated from the
test data as follows:

J
2m
p

1

6
p o
11
o
22

2
o
22
o
33

2
o
11
o
33

1,2
39
The error between the experimental value of
p
J
2m
calculated
using equation (39) and the theoretical
p
J
2
value calculated
using equation (28) for the n-set test result is established as a
target function:
err
X
n
i1

J
2m
p
i

J
2
p
i

2
40
For the tensile strength af
c
, it is well known that a = 0 for
sand and that c = 1.0 for metal. Therefore a should hence be
in the range 0 c 1.0 for general geomaterials. Therefore
based on the n-set of true triaxial failure test data (o
11
/f
c
, o
22
/f
c
,
o
33
/f
c
) of a geomaterial, the correct calculation procedures are
follows.
(i) a is defined in the range 0 a 1.0;
(ii) Based on the test data (o
11
/f
c
, o
22
/f
c
, o
33
/f
c
), sinc
c
can be
obtained using equation (20).
(iii) The values of j and err are then calculated using equa-
tions (38) and (40), respectively.
(iv) Different values of a correspond to different values of j
and err, and the minimum value err
min
is the final target
value. The values of a and j corresponding to err
min
are
called the identified material parameters.
The above calculation procedures can be implemented easily
using a simple computer code. They allow a relatively reason-
able estimate of the tensile strength of a geomaterial, which is
usually difficult to measure, to be obtained.
5. Calibration and verification
The true triaxial failure strength test data for red sandstone (Li
1990) is given in table 1. Using the computer code developed by
the authors, the material parameters j 0.0982 and a = 0.025
are identified, which give err
min
= 0.0152. The maximum
relative error for predicting the failure strength of red sandstone
is 5.56% (table 1). The results of the calculation show that the
predictions obtained using equation (27) are reasonable for
materials such as cemented soils, concrete, mortar, ceramics,
rock, etc.
The values of k and sinc
c
for red sandstone are
k 1 exp0.09820.075 I
1
,f
c
41
sin c
c
3
k 1
k 1

3 exp0.09820.075 I
1
,f
c

2 exp0.09820.075 I
1
,f
c

42
According to the Mohr--Coulomb failure criterion (van
Eekelen 1980, Hashiguchi 2002), the following relationship
holds in the triaxial extension state:
Table 1 Comparison of true triaxial failure strength test results for red sandstone with theoretical predictions
o
33
/f
c
, o
22
/f
c
, o
11
/f
c
I
1
/(3f
c
) 0
o
(deg)
p
J
2m
/f
c
p
J
2
/f
c
[(
p
J
2
--
p
J
2m
)/
p
J
2m
] 100 (%)
0.00, 0.00, 1.00 0.3333 -30.00 0.5774 0.5585 -3.27
0.00, 0.24, 1.38 0.5400 -20.63 0.7373 0.7298 -1.02
0.00, 0.44, 1.34 0.5933 -11.21 0.6830 0.6801 -0.43
0.00, 0.65, 1.28 0.6433 0.52 0.6400 0.6364 -0.51
0.00, 0.79, 0.92 0.5700 22.50 0.4979 0.5033 1.09
0.08, 0.08, 1.80 0.6533 -30.00 0.9930 0.9621 -3.12
0.08, 0.24, 2.20 0.8400 -26.12 1.1805 1.1361 -3.76
0.08, 0.40, 2.42 0.9667 -22.76 1.2688 1.2108 -4.57
0.08, 0.54, 2.01 0.8767 -16.81 1.0081 1.0296 2.14
0.08, 0.84, 1.78 0.9000 -3.50 0.8516 0.8863 4.08
0.08, 0.98, 1.86 0.9733 0.37 0.8900 0.9110 2.35
0.16, 0.16, 2.18 0.8333 -30.00 1.1663 1.1545 -1.01
0.16, 0.39, 2.22 0.9233 -24.15 1.1288 1.1916 5.56
0.16, 0.59, 2.54 1.0967 -20.24 1.2683 1.2843 1.26
0.16, 0.79, 2.67 1.2067 -16.04 1.3058 1.3016 -0.32
0.16, 0.98, 2.71 1.2833 -11.64 1.3018 1.2876 -1.09
0.16, 1.19, 2.25 1.2000 -0.48 1.0450 1.0867 3.99
Lade--Duncan failure criterion 303
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t
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9
:
4
3

6

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u
g
u
s
t

2
0
0
7

J
2
p
I
1

0
o
30

2 sin c
e

3
p
3 sin c
e

43
Substituting equation (28) into equation (43), we obtain
sin c
e

3A g0
o

030
8
4 A g0
o

030
8
44
Equations (41), (42), and (44), and the relationship (c
e
-- c
c
) ,I
1
are further plotted in figures 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Figure 3
shows that the ratio k decreases from 2.0 to 1.0 as the value of
I
1
/f
c
gradually increases. Figure 4 shows that the internal
frictional angle c, including c
e
and c
c
, decreases from 908 to
08 at the ultimate ideal plastic state as the average principal
stress increases. The value of (c
e
-- c
c
), which is initially zero,
increases gradually to its maximum value at I
1
/f
c
< 1.0, and
then decreases from the peak value and approaches zero as the
average principal stress is increased further. It is reasonable
that geomaterials exhibit the maximum differences in both
their strength characteristics and their deformation character-
istics at the peak value point. Figures 3, 4, and 5 show that
geomaterials approach a homogeneous state as the average
principal stress is increased.
6. Concluding remarks
As stress approaches the triaxial extension state in geomater-
ials, cracks and fractures develop by a micromechanical defor-
mation mechanism, and induce a higher internal frictional angle
c as a result of macromechanical deformation. As demonstrated
for c
c
! c
e
on p planes (figures 4 and 5), the Lade--Duncan
failure criterion can describe the basic physical mechanical
deformation characteristics for geomaterials. This is the reason
why this criterion is widely used in geotechnical engineering.
The original Lade--Duncan failure criterion (equation (9)) is
a more general failure criterion with a deeper physical meaning,
which can describe not only the strength failure characteristics
for sand and normal consolidation soil mass satisfactorily, but
can also capture these characteristics for cemented
geomaterials.
In geomaterials, the difference (c
e
-- c
c
) is greater at lower
stress levels and decreases with increasing average principal
stress, in agreement with engineering experience.
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0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
2 0 2 4 6 8
c
f
I
1
Figure 3. Relation between k and I
1
/f
c
for red sandstone.
0
20
40
60
80
100
2 0 2 4 6 8
Triaxial compression frictional angle
Triaxial extension frictional angle
()
c
f
I
1
Figure 4. Relation between c and I
1
/f
c
for red sandstone.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
2 0 2 4 6 8
(
e

c
)()
c
f
I
1
Figure 5. Relationship curve between c
e
-- c
c
and I
1
/f
c
for red sandstone.
304 X. Q. Yang et al.