An internal variable theory of inelastic behaviour derived from the uniaxial rigid-perfectly plastic law (Q1262029)

The authors derived a set of constitutive relations for inelastic behavior by using the internal variable theory. They particularly stressed on the basic properties of the evolution relation involving rates of internal variable and dual thermodynamical forces. It was shown that a suitable generalization of the uniaxial rigid-perfectly plastic law can be performed by introducing the definition of step-shaped constitutive maps. This definition allowed them to derive a general theory of associated inelastic behavior with its characteristic properties: convexity of the elastic locus, normality rule, existence of a sublinear dissipation functional and of a canonical yield functional. Finally, they discussed the formulation of the constitutive relation in terms of yield functionals and related inelastic multipliers. This work is very interesting and might be helpful for those researchers working in the area of plasticity.