Extremal properties of endochronic plasticity. I: Extremal path of the constitutive equation without a yield surface. II: Extremal path of the constitutive equation with a yield surface and application (Q1309793)

Based on the general extremal properties of time-independent inelastic materials proposed by the second author and \textit{J. B. Martin} [J. Mech. Phys. Solids 20, 281-300 (1972; Zbl 0241.73003)], some extremal properties of endochronic theory of plasticity are investigated. The extremal path of an endochronic constitutive equation without using a yield surface is found, which makes plastic work act as a potential such that the deviatoric stress can be derived from its derivative with respect to plastic strain. Using the derived extremal properties, the principle of minimum potential energy is extended to endochronic theory of plasticity. As an example, the stress and strain fields of a hinge- joint three-bar truss are analyzed. The extremal properties of endochronic constitutive equation with a yield surface and the corresponding method for deformation bound analysis are proposed. An example is presented that demonstrates that the application of endochronic constitutive models to simplified analysis is not significantly different from classical models due to the derived extremal properties. The adopted constitutive model involves both nonlinear isotropic and kinematic hardening, which may provide more accurate results in simplified and bounding analysis.