Recent research effort carried out at Delft University of Technology to improve the experimental knowledge and develop a comprehensive modelling approach for fibrous organic soils is summarised. Experimental results and numerical analyses are combined to discuss some contradictory results which have delayed advanced characterisation of peats. Part of the apparent inconsistencies commonly found in the literature is due to the influence of the testing apparatus, including rough platens and membrane restraint, which inhibit homogenous deformation modes and alter the response of the samples compared to the true material behaviour. The consequences of non-homogenous deformation are particularly relevant on peats due to the unique combination of their exceptionally low stiffness and high strength. An elastic–plastic constitutive framework was developed starting from repeatable reconstituted samples of peats, taking care of reducing end restraint to a large extent in the experimental setup. The results suggested that an elastic–plastic model for peats should include a non-associated flow rule and a mixed volumetric–deviatoric hardening law. The role played by different fibres at the laboratory scale is discussed, and the additional reinforcement offered by bigger fibres on the observed behaviour of natural peats is addressed.

总结了代尔夫特理工大学最近进行的研究工作，以提高实验知识并开发一种针对纤维状有机土壤的综合建模方法。实验结果和数值分析相结合，讨论了一些矛盾的结果，这些结果延迟了泥炭的高级表征。通常在文献中发现的部分明显的不一致性是由于测试设备的影响，包括粗糙的压板和膜约束，与真实的材料行为相比，它们抑制了均匀的变形模式并改变了样品的响应。由于泥炭异常低的刚度和高强度的独特结合，非均匀变形的后果在泥炭上尤为重要。从可重复重构的泥炭样本开始，开发了一种弹塑性本构框架，并在很大程度上减少了实验中的末端约束。结果表明，泥炭的弹塑性模型应包括非关联流动规则和混合的体积-变径硬化定律。讨论了在实验室规模上不同纤维所起的作用，并讨论了较大纤维对天然泥炭行为的额外增强作用。