Three common misconceptions regarding the steady state are that a) it is the same as the critical state (it is not), b) that it applies only to the undrained case (it applies to all forms of drainage), and c) that it does not apply to sands (it applies to any granular material). A primer on the Steady State theory can be found in a report by Poulos . Its use in earthquake engineering is described in detail in another publication by Poulos .