A constitutive model, based on the novel concept of scaled memory (SM)
, is presented to describe the hysteretic stress-strain response curve
s of soils during one-dimensional loadings. SM transforms the nonlinea
r plastic modulus into a piecewise-linear distribution, and then uses
this simplified distribution for generating the plastic modulus during
cyclic loadings. SM generalizes the models of Ramberg-Osgood and Hard
in-Drnevich, and is simpler than, but as capable as, multiple yield su
rface plasticity. We extend SM to anisotropic behavior, and present a
technique to calibrate the material constants from laboratory data. Th
e SM theory, although applicable to six-dimensional stresses, is unfol
ded only in one dimension in this paper. Its usefulness is illustrated
by simulating several cyclic stress-strain responses for clays and sa
nds.