Optimization routine for identification of model parameters in soil plasticity

The paper presents an optimization routine especially developed for the identification of model parameters in soil plasticity on the basis of different soil tests. Main focus is put on the mathematical aspects and the experience from application of this optimization routine. Mathematically, for the optimization, an objective function and a search strategy are needed. Some alternative expressions for the objective function are formulated. They capture the overall soil behaviour and can be used in a simultaneous optimization against several laboratory tests. Two different search strategies, Rosenbrock's method and the Simplex method, both belonging to the category of direct search methods, are utilized in the routine. Direct search methods have generally proved to be reliable and their relative simplicity make them quite easy to program into workable codes. The Rosenbrock and simplex methods are modified to make the search strategies as efficient and user‐friendly as possible for the type of optimization problem addressed here. Since these search strategies are of a heuristic nature, which makes it difficult (or even impossible) to analyse their performance in a theoretical way, representative optimization examples against both simulated experimental results as well as performed triaxial tests are presented to show the efficiency of the optimization routine. From these examples, it has been concluded that the optimization routine is able to locate a minimum with a good accuracy, fast enough to be a very useful tool for identification of model parameters in soil plasticity. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.