Large strain finite-element analysis of snow

The modified Cam-clay model and the classical Drucker-Prager plasticity 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 stress-strain law and the computation of the exact algorithmic tangent moduli provide an efficient implementation of this model. Both material models are calibrated according to the experimental data obtained from hydrostatic and shear-box tests of snow and verified by reanalyses of these tests. Numerical results obtained from finite-element analyses of the mechanical interaction between a single tread rubber block from an automobile tire moving over a snow-covered surface are presented.