A new review paper by Joel Given, Kenichi Soga, Tadahiro Kishida, and Jinhyun Choo, titled “On the normalization of the undrained stress–strain response of soils,” has been published in the KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering.
The paper examines how effective confining pressure and the choice of normalization parameter influence the undrained stress–strain behavior of soils. In geotechnical engineering, normalization is often used to compare soil responses measured under different stress states. However, proper normalization depends on the soil type, stress history, and constitutive framework used to describe the material behavior.
Focusing on two widely used critical-state soil models, Modified Cam Clay and NorSand, the authors discuss the theoretical conditions under which undrained soil responses can be fully normalized. The study emphasizes the roles of the overconsolidation ratio for clays and the state parameter for sands in predicting soil behavior across different confining pressures.
This work provides a clear theoretical perspective on when normalization is valid and how it should be interpreted. The paper offers useful guidance for researchers and engineers working with laboratory testing, constitutive modeling, and numerical simulation of undrained soil behavior.