| Abstract: | Granular frictional materials show a complex stress‐strain behaviour depending on the stress state and the load history. Furthermore, biaxial experiments exhibit the occurrence of shear band phenomena as the result of the localization of plastic strains. It is well known that the onset of shear bands is associated with microrotations of the granular microstructure, which has a significant influence on the macroscopic behaviour. Consequently, the macroscopic material must result in a micropolar model, which incorporates rotational degrees of freedom. After the formulation of the constitutive equations and the numerical implementation, it is necessary to determine all required material parameters. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) |
