SUMMARYThe mathematical structure and numerical analysis of classical small deformation elasto}plasticity is generally well established. However, development of large deformation elastic}plastic numerical formulation for dilatant, pressure sensitive material models is still a research area.In this paper we present development of the "nite element formulation and implementation for large deformation, elastic}plastic analysis of geomaterials. Our developments are based on the multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient into elastic and plastic parts. A consistent linearization of the right deformation tensor together with the Newton method at the constitutive and global levels leads toward an e$cient and robust numerical algorithm. The presented numerical formulation is capable of accurately modelling dilatant, pressure sensitive isotropic and anisotropic geomaterials subjected to large deformations. In particular, the formulation is capable of simulating the behaviour of geomaterials in which eigentriads of stress and strain do not coincide during the loading process.The algorithm is tested in conjunction with the novel hyperelasto}plastic model termed the B material model, which is a single surface (single yield surface, a$ne single ultimate surface and a$ne single potential surface) model for dilatant, pressure sensitive, hardening and softening geomaterials. It is speci"cally developed to model large deformation hyperelasto}plastic problems in geomechanics.We present an application of this formulation to numerical analysis of low con"nement tests on cohesionless granular soil specimens recently performed in a SPACEHAB module aboard the Space Shuttle during the STS-89 mission. We compare numerical modelling with test results and show the signi"cance of added con"nement by the thin hyperelastic latex membrane undergoing large stretching.