Variational and projection methods for the volume constraint in finite deformation elasto-plasticity (Q760243)

This paper focuses on the treatment of volume constraints which in the context of elasto-plasticity typically arise as a result of assuming volume-preserving plastic flow. Projection methods based on the modification of the discrete gradient operator B, often proposed on an ad-hoc basis, are systematically obtained in the variational context furnished by a three-field Hu-Washizu principle. The fully nonlinear formulation proposed here is based on a local multiplicative split of the deformation gradient into volume-preserving and dilatational parts, without relying on rate forms of the weak form of momentum balance. This approach fits naturally in a formulation of plasticity based on the multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient, and enables one to exactly enforce the condition of volume-preserving plastic flow. Within the framework proposed in this paper, rate forms and incrementally objective algorithms are entirely bypassed.