LARGE-STRAIN FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF SNOW

The modified Cam-clay model and the classical Drucker-Prager plasticit y model are used for the numerical representation of snow. Both models are recast within an algorithmic framework for multiplicative finite deformation plasticity. A fully implicit return project algorithm for the Cam-clay model in conjunction with a modification of the elastic s tress-strain law and the computation of the exact algorithmic tangent moduli provide an efficient implementation of this model. Both materia l models are calibrated according to the experimental data obtained fr om hydrostatic and shear-box tests of snow and verified by reanalyses of these tests. Numerical results obtained from finite-element analyse s of the mechanical interaction between a single tread rubber block fr om an automobile tire moving over a snow-covered surface are presented .