Chapter 3

ELEMENTS OF
THE THEORY OF PLASTICITY
3-1. lntroduction
The theory of plasticity d<ials with thc bclmvior of matcrials in t.he
region of strain bcyond whicb Hooke's law is no longcr valid. Tlw
mathematical dcscripton of the pJ::tstic deformation of mctals is uot
nearly so well developed tis the description of clastic dcformation hy
mea.ns of thc theory of clasticity because plast.ic deformation is much
more complicated than 1 last.ic deformation. For cxamplc, in the plastic
region of strain, thcrc is no simple relafomship bctwcen stress and strain
as t.hcrc is for clastic deformation. Moniov<ir, elaHtc defonnaUon
depends only on the init.i:tl and final states of stress a.nd is independent
of t.he loading path, but for plastic deformation thc plastic strain depends
not only on the final load but ahm on the path by which it. was retched.
'l'he t.luwry of plasticty is concerned with a number of different types
of problems. From the vicwpoint of design, plasticity is concerned wi
tb predicting the maximum loa.d whicb ca.n be ftppl icd to a, body
without ca.using excessive yicldiug.
The yield criterion I must be
expressed in
terms of stress iu such a way t.hf.1.t it is v:l.Jid for ali states of stress. The
designer is also corn:em(id with plastic deformation in problerns wbere
the body is pmposely strcssed beyond the yicld st,ress into the plastic
region. For example, plastieity must be considered i n designing for
processes such a.s autofrettage, shrink fitting, and thc overspeeding of
rotor disks. The consideration of srnall plast.ic strains allows economie.s
in building coustrnction t.hrongh the use of the theory of fnit design.
The analysis of large plustc strains is required in t,he rrntt.hematical
treatmtHtt of thc plast.ic forming of metals. This aspfwt of plastici
ty
1 Thc del ern1iuation of thc limiting load hetwee11 elastic nn<I pl:istic hchavior is also
genemlly covf'red i n strength of materia.Is. Howcvcr, hec:ansc it is necess:1ry to adopt
a yield criterion in thc lheories of' plasticity, ths topic is covered i11 thc cliapter on
pla;;ticity.

54

Sec. 3-21

Elements of the Theory of Plasticity

55

wil .1 be considered iu Part Four. H is very difficult. to describe, in a

rigorons aualyticnl \\'O.Y, t he behavior of a metn.l m1der these conditions.
Therefore, rertnin simplifying nssumptious are wmally ncccssary to obtain
a t.rnetahle rnat hemat ical solut.ion.
Another aspcct of pla:4irity is (oncerned with acquiriog a hetter under
st:1ndi11g of t hr nwd1:1nism of tlw pla:,;ti< dcformation of mctals. Intercst
in this field is cc11tcred 011 t he impNfodions in cl'ystallinc solids. The
cffcct of metnllurgical variables, crystal struct ure, aud lat tice irn pcrfcc tions
on thc deformation beha\ior are of chief co11cem. This aspcct of plasticity is
considered in Pa rt Two.

3-2. The Flow Curve

The strcss-strain curve obtaned by u niaxal loading, as in the ordinary
tcnsion test, is of f undamental intcrest. in plasticity when the curve is
plotted in tcrms of true stres::: u and true strain E. True st.ress is- given
by t.he load dividcd by the instantaneous cross-sectional arctt of t hc speci
mcn. True train is discussed in the nex:t section. The purposB of this
sect.io111 is to dcscrib1 typica l stress-Rtr:tin Cllrvcs for real mctals and to
compare thcm with the theoretical flow curves for ideal nuit.crials.
Thc trnc strcss-strain cun<.> for n typical duct,ile metal, such as alumi
n um, is i!luslrated in Fg. :1-la. Hooke's law is followed up to some yield
A
I
I
I

t
I
Ir
/

.I,I
(al

l b)

Fis, 3-1. Typical true st.rcss--st.rai11 cnrvcs for a ductilc metal.

stress uo.

(The val ue of u 0 will depcud upou the ac1urncy with which

strain is measmcd.) Bcyond u 0, thc metal dcforms pl:i.st.ieally.
1ost mctals strain-hard cn in this rcgion, so that increascs in
strain require highcr values of stress than the initial yeld stress ir0
However, ttnlikc the situati011 in the elastic region, the stress
and strain are not. rclatnd by

1 See Chap. U for t\ more 1omplctc 1lisousson of 1.hc matl,cmati<'s of thc true st.resS
strain eu rve.

56

Mec ha nica l Fu nda menta ls

[Cha p. 3

any simpl e const ant of proportionality. If the metal is strained to point

A , when the load is released the lot.al strain will immedia t ely dccrcasc
frnm f 1 to E2 by an amoun t u/ E. The si.rain decrease E1 - E2 is Lhc
recoverable e/astic strain. However, the strain rcmaini ng is not aH pcrma
nen t plastic strain. Depending upon thc metal and Lhe lemperature, a
small amonnt of the plastic strain e 2 - e 3 will disappear wi th time. This
is knowll as anelast.ic heh:wior. 1 Genernll y the anelastic strain is neg lected
in mathemttical theories of plasticily.
Generally the strcss-strain curve on unloadin g from a plastic strain
will not Le exactly linear and parallel to the elastic portiou of the curve
(Fig. 3-lb). Moreover, on re\oadin g the curve wll genera.lly bend over
us the stress apprnachcs the original value of stress from which it was
unloaded. With a lit.Lle additional pla3tic strain, the stress-slrain cu rve
becomes a continua.tion of what it would lmve been had no m1loadin g
ta.ken place. 'l'he hysteresis behavior resulti ng from unloadi ng ami load
ing from a plustic strain i s genera.\l y neglected in pla.sticity theories .
A true stress-strain curve is frequen tly called a flow wrue because it
gives t he stress req ui red to cause the metal to flow plastically to any
given .ctrain. 1fany attempts have been made to fit mathematical equa t.ions
to this curve. The most corn mon is a. power expression of the fonn
(3-1)

u = K e"

where K is the stress at e = 1.0 and n, t.he st.rain-hardening coefficicnt ,

is thc slope of a log-log plot of Eq. (3-1) . This cquat.ion can be valid
only from thc bcginning of plastic flow to the maxim um load at. which
the specimen begins t o neck down.
Evcn thc simple mathcmatical expression for thc fiow curve that is
given hy Eq. (3-1) can result in considerable mathemaic:al complexiLy
when it is used with tho eq uations of t.he theory of pla sticity . Theroforo,
in t.hi s field it. is com mon practice to devis, idenlized fiow eurvcs which
Himpl if y lhe malhematics withou t deviat.ing too far from physicid reality.
Figure 3-20. shows the flow curve for a riyid , perfectl y p/astic material.
For this i<lcalized material, a tcnsile specimen is complcte!y rigid (zero
elastic strain ) until the axial stress equals u n, whereupou the material
lows plastically at a constan t flow stress (zero st.rain har<lc11ing). This
type of behavior is approached by a ductile met.ul which is in a highly coldworke<l condit.ion . pjgme 3-2b iJl ustrates the .low curve for a perfeetly
plust.ic material wit,h an elastie rogion . This behavior is npproached by a
material such us ph1.in-<arbon scel wh ich has n pro nounced yiel<l-point.
elongution (see Sec. 5-5). A more realistic approach is to :1pproxim:1tc
thc fiow curve by two slraigbt \ines correspondi n g; to
1

Anelasticlty is discussed in grcutcr detail in Chap.

8.

Sec. 3-3]

Elements of the Theory of Plasticity

al

( bl

57

(e )

Fig. 3-2. 1uealized flow curves. (a) nigid irlea.l plast.ic material; (b) ideal pl:u;tic
matcrinl with cln. lic rc,:tion; (e) picccwisc J iuear (strain-h:m!ening) matrrial.

thc cla1,tc ami plast.ic rcgiom, (Fig. 3-2c). This type of curve results in
somewhat more com plicated mat.hematics.

3-3. True Strain

Equat.io11 (1-1) describes t hc conventionul cornept. of unit. li11car
strain, namcly, t.1'10 chaugc in lcngth rcfcrrcd to thc original unit lc11gth.

e =M,
Lo

tL

Lu

L$

dL

This deti11ition of strain is satisfartory for clast.ic strains whcre L is very

smnll. However, in plastic deformat.ion t.he strains n,rc frcqucntly large,
and during thc cxtcnsion thc gnge Icngth changcF. considcmbly. Ludwik 1
first proposcd t he defiuit.ion of trnc 1-1t rnin, or nat ural sLrain, E, which obvi
ates this difficulty. In this dofinitio11 of Rtrnin thc chnugc in lcngth is
referred to the i nst ant.ancons gflgc lcngt.h, ralher than to t.he origiMI
g:1ge length.
E =

or
=

Do + L2 - L1 + La - La +

L1 Lo

r, di,

L1

L2

- = In
,., I,
Lo

The relationshi p betwccn true strain and conve11tio1rnl linear strain

follows from Eq. ( l-1).
e=

e+

l
E

/j,?. = L .Lo

Lo = !::._ _ 1
l,o
Lo

l.,

Lo

= In Lo = ln (e

1)

t P. Lutlwik, "Elcmcu tc dcr t.cchnologischcn :\Icchanik," Springer-Verlag

OHG. Berlin, 1!)09.

(3-i)

58

Mechanical Fundamentals

[Chap. 3

Thc two measurcments of st.rain givc 11ca1ly ident.cal results np to

strains of about 0.1.
Beca.use the volume rerrw.ns essentially constant duriug plastic dcfor
mnt.ion, Eq. (:3-:3) can be writt.en in tel'ms of eit,hcr length or :irea.
E

Ao

Lo

11

= l n -- = l n -

(3-5)

Also, bccause of coustuncy of volume, thc summalion of thc three princi

pal strains is cqual to zero.

(8-6)
This relationship is not vali<l for the principal conventfonal stmins.
The advan tagc of using true strain sho11ld be appare11t. from the follow ing
example: Consider a uuiforrn cylindeiwhich is extended to twice its original
Jength. Thc linear Rtrni n is then e = (21,0 - T,o)/Lo = 1.0, or a strain of
100 pcr cent. To achievc the same amount of ncgati ve linear strain in
compressiou, t he cylinder would havc to be squeezed to z3ro thickness.
Ilowc\'cr, intuit.ively we shoul<l expect thnt t.he st.rain pro duccd in
comprcssing a eylinclcr to half its original length would be the samc n.s, a.J
though opposile iu sign to, the str:.1in produced by extending thc cylin<ler
to twice its lcngth. If trne strnin is used, equivalence is obtained for the
two cases.
For cxtension to twice the 01ignal length, f = ln (2Lo/Ln)
= In 2. For compression to half the original length,
E =

Ju [(Lo/2)/Lo] = In H = - In 2.

3-4. Yielding Criteria for Ducti le Metals

The problem of dcducing matherna.tical relationshps for predictng
t.he condt.ions at which plastic yielding; begins wben }t ma tcrii.tl is sub jcctcd
to a com plcx stalB of stress is an import:rnt. co11siderati011 iu tlHi field of
plasticity. In uniaxial loa.ding, plastic flow begins at th yield stress, and it;
is to be {!Xpcctcd tlmt yielding undcr :t situat.o11 of com bned stresses is
related lo sorne p:u't.icular combiuation of t.he princi pal strcsses.
A
yield critcrion can be cxprcsscd iu t,he general form
F(<11,<12,<J'3,k1, ) = O, but Uwrc is at prmmn t no thcorctica.J way of cal
c11la.t,ing the relat.ionship between the stress componcnts to correlatc yield
ing in a three-dinwnsiona.J statc of stress with yielding in the uniuxial
tensio11 test. The yielding crit.eria are thercfore essentally cmpircal
relationships. At prcsent, there are two generally accepted t,lworics for
pre<lictiug t.hc onset. of yieldi11g in ductile metills.

NI cixm.tm-shear-slress 'Phrory
Thc maxmum-:;hear- sl.re:-is theory, :oomf'timos ('allcd t.hc Tresca, Cou
lomb, m Guest yeld critcrion, $tatci, i,hat yicldi11g will occur wlieu the

Sec. 3.4]

Elements of !he Theory of Plasticity

59

maximum shear stress rcaches a critica! value Hq1rn.l t.o thc shearing yield
stress in a nn ia xial tension test. From Rq. (2-15), tl1e maximum shcar
stress is given by
\

0'3

U 1m.-t:it

(3-7)

whero u1 is Urn algchraically largest ancl u 3 is the ulgchrai('al\y smallest

princi pal stress.
For uniaxial tension 0-1 = uo, u = u3 = O, wherc o-0 is thc yield st.rength
in simple tension. Thcrefore, t he shearing yicld stress for simple te11sio11
ro is cqual to one-half of tl1e tensile yicld :-:tress.
uo

-ro = 2

S11hHtit11ti11g thcse val ues into thc cquntion for the maximum shcu,ii'itress
rcsults in
0'1 Tnl:tx

or

O' s

= ro =

Uo

(3-8)

(:3-0)

This is i:;omct.imcs writ.tcn as

(3-10)
wliere u{ and u; are thc devi:Ltors of the principal slreH::-os nnd k is t.he
yicld stress for plll'e shear, i.c., the stress at wh ich yiclding occurs in
f.on,ion, where u 1 = -ua.
Thc muximum-shear-stres s thcory is in good agrcement with experi
mental results, being slip;htly on thn safo Hide, aml is widcly 11sed hy
designen; for d11ctil e metals. lt has rcplaced thc oidor :rnd far lcss accu
rate maxirnum-stress thcory, nankine's theory.
Pragc1uud Hoclgc 1 havc poi nted out t.hat in certain plasticily problems
the simple relatiomi o Eq. (: -9) or (:{-10) ca.n not, he 11sed as thc yicldi ng
conditions sincc it is not known which of thc t.l1ree principal stresses is the
la.rgest. In this case, tlw m uch more complicatcd g<mcrnl form of the
eq ualion, which is given bclow, m usl be uscd.
(8-11)

J 2 and ,/a are the invariants of thc stress dcvintor (sec Scc. 2-14). Obvi
c>w.'ly, such a complex rel:ion will rcsuH in vcry cumbersome mathc m::i.tics.
H is for this reason t.hat the yieldin,::;- critcrion that is discussed next is
prcfcned in mosl tll()orct.icul work.
1
W. Prn1r :11111 P. U. Uoclge, .ir., "Theory of l'erfectly Plastc Solids," p. 2:{,
.Johu Wley & Sons, Inc., Ncw Yol'k. rnr,1.

60

Mechanical Fundamenta ls

[Chap. 3

VonMises, or Distortion-energy, Theory

A somewhat bet.ter fit with expcrimc1lt.al rcsulLs is provided by the
yield crcrion given in Eq. (3-12).
(3-12)
According to this critcrion, yielding will occur whcn t.he dilferences
bet,ween thc principal Htrcsscs Bxpmssed by U1e l'ighl-ha11d side of the
eqna.tion exceed U1e yiold stress in uniaxial tcnsion, uo. The devel()p
rnen t of this yield criterion is associntcd with thc names of Von :\ilises,
Hencky, VIaxwcll, and Huher. Von lVIises proposed t.his criterion in the
invarfant form given by Eq. (3-13) primarily b<!Cn use it was rnat.hemat.i
cally simpler than the invariant fotm of t.he maximum-shear-stress theory
given by Eq. (3-11). Subseq11ent. experiments showed t,hat Eq. (3-13)
provides better over-all agreement with comhined stress-yielding data
tha.n t.he maximum-she:u-stress theory.
(3-13)

J 2 is the second invariant of the stress devintor, and k is the yield stress
in pure shear.
A number of attempts ha.ve been made to provide physical meaning
to the Von .i\!lises yield criterion. One commonly accepted conccpt is
that this yield criterion expresses the strnin energy of distort.ion. On Lhe
basis of the distortion-energy concepi, yielding will occur when thc strain
cnergy of distortion per unit vol ume cxceeds the strain energy of distor
tion per unit. volume for a. specimen strained t.o the yield st,resH in uuiaxial
tcnsion or compression. The derivation of Eq. (3-12) on t.hc basis of
distort.on cnergy is given helow. Another common physical intcrprcta. tion
of Eq. (3-12) is tha.t it. represents the crit.icat value of the octahedral shcar
stress (sec Sec. 3-7).
The t.otal clastic strnin cllcrgy per unit volume (sce Sec. 2-15) can be
divided int.o two componeuts, t.he 1,lrai11 energy of dist,orLion, U, irnd
t.hc strain cnergy of volumc changc, U'. To illustratc the resolut.ion of
total strain energy int.o its componen t.s, consider Fig. :{-B. This figure
illus t.rntes the poin t establish< d in Scc. 2-H that a general threedimensiona.J state of stress can be expresscd in tcrms of a spherimil or
hydrostatic component of stress, u",n.nd a stress deviat.or, u' . Becausc
cxperirocnt.s have shown1 that, up to rather la.rge valucs of hydrost.atic
pressure n. hydrost.atic stalc of stress has no effect cm yielding, it. is valid
to assume that on ly the stress deviator cnn produce distortion.
Thereforc, t.he
1 P.

W. Bri<lgman, "Sludes in Large l'lastc Flow ttml fi'racturc," ;\foGrnw-llill

llook Company, Inc., Ncw \'ork, 1952.

Elements of the Theory of Plasticity

Sec. 3-4]

strain energy of distortion will be bascd

011

61

the stress devi:J.tor. It reprc

sents only thc strn.in encrgy associatcd with changing thc shapc of the
specimcn and ncglects thc strain cnergy associated wth chauges i n

volume.
Thc strain cnergy of distortion will be dctermincd by first calculatng
the st.rnin cnergy of volumc changc a.nd thcn s1tbtracting thi::; t.crm from
O"i

112' '

/
t-

r-t

Fi9. 3-3. Rcsohttion of stm;::; iuto hydrostatic strcs,; :md :;trss dcviator.

the total strain encrgy. Refcrring again to Fig. 3-3, the strnn encrgy
por unit volume associuted with a volumc chango will be

U'

Yzu'e;' + Yzu'e' + yz u;'e'

Rcferring to t hc dcfinit ioHs for the dcvin.tor compo11ent. of strnin givcn in

Scc. 2- L land let.ting um cqual t.l1c hydrost.atic componcnt of slrns, or
1

average stress,
(:{-14)

However, frnm Eq. (2-29) '1 =

bccomes

u,.,/ t<, so that Eq. (: -14)

U" =!
Um2

(8-15)

Sincc U = Uo - U', the strain encrgy of distortion can be <lctcrmincd

by usng Eq. (2-GO) for the total strain encrgy U0

2 (u12

+ 0"22 + u/) - (u1u2 +0'20"3 +0'<13) -2

(: -tG)

(T:
Howevcr, sincc
(3-l{j) reduces to

u,,. = (u1

u2

u3)/3 ttnd " = E/[3(1 - 211)), Eq.

(3-17)
:For u. uniaxial state of stress, u 1 = a0, a2 = u3 = O.
(3-18)

62

Mechanical Fundamentals

[Chap. 3

'fhcrefore, the dist.ortion-energy yield criterion can he writt.en

16t /1 2o-u 2

(t:

JI

((0-1 - r2) 2

+ (<T2 - 0'3) 2 + (0-3 - 0'1)21

or

o-o =

J2

[(a1 - <1'2) 2

+ (u2 - <Y3) 2 + (<1'a - a1)2]}i

(3-19)

For a condiLiou of pure shcar, such as Cc1irs in torsion, ,, = a.

Tt

= Uo

tT

-ao

'l'h(m forc, thc slmin energy of distoriion for this st.ato of stress is given by

U' =

/1

2 = l.

+ v ,.z
E

(3-20)

If fo.r any type of stress system yieldng begins when the strain energy of
distortion reaches a crit.ical value, the rntio between this critica! value
Cor uniaxial stress and pure shear can be obtaincd by equating Eqs. (318) and (3-20).

1 + .B

To

7{)

_ l+v
-

:3 E

= _

O'o

l- <To = ().n-.,.. luo

v 3
Thus, if thc distortion-energ;y t.heory is a valid yielding critcrion, thc yield
slrongt,h in shear, as determined from a lorsion tesl, shou\d be
0.577 times the tensile yield strength. Actual da.ta show tho.t thc shea1
yidd strcs:.-; falls hctween 0.5 and 0.6 of the tensile yield stress, wit,h the
average occurring 1:lose to t.he predicted val ue. Tt shou]d be 11ot.cd
t.hat the maximum-shear-sti-css theory predicts that -ro = 0.50uo.
Thc bctter agrnemcnt shown hy
t.he distortion-energy theory for thesc two different types of iesls is one
reason for preferring the disto1tion-energy theory of yiclding.

3-5. Combined Stress Tests

The con<lifms for yielding undcr statcs of st.rcss other tha.n lmia.xial
and torsion loading can be conveniently studied wit.h thiu-wa.ll tubes.
Axial tcnsion c::i..n be comhined wth t.orsion to give various combi nations
of shcar stJe,'iS to nonnal stress ntermediate hetwccn the values obtaned
separately in tension a111l torson. For lhe combined axial lension :;tnd

Sec. 3-51

Elements o the Theory of Plastici ty

63

torsion, t,hc prindpal strcsscs from Eq. (2-7) :tre

+ (r,"2
-- +

- rr,..

rf <T 2

2)

'Tr,y

=0

(:3-22)

<T a = " - (<Tl +

r;"yi
Therefoi-e, t)l(' 11u1xim11m-.;l10ar-:::trcss criterion of yielding is givcn by

+4

('izy)

ero

(3-23)

1
(

<To

a.nd t.hc clistortion-cncrJ:?;y theory of yfolding is exprcsscd by

(3-2-t)
Both cquations define a.u cl li psc. Vigurc 3-4 shows that, t.he cxpcri
mcnta.l results ngrce bcst \Yith t.lw dist.ortion-cncrgy thcory.

Is'
'.;.:.._.

0.31---+

-+---i

-+-

+---t

'------'---'--.1-...----1. ..L.-. .......--'--'---'C 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 C.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
<T;/ r:To

Fis, 3-4. Comparison between maximum he:tr-,;\ re,;,; thcory ami dist.9rtio1Hmcr11:y
(Von :\!ises) theory.

Anot.her type of combined !'itress test is t.o suhject. U1i11-wall tubes to

tlxial load :m<l i11lernal hytlrostalic pressurn. 2 Si1wc t he stress i n thn

radial dil'ect.ion is Mgligible (<13 = O at. t.hc outer free surface), this test
providcs a binxial statc of stre;:o;H.
For the plane-st ress condt.ioll, tlic distort.ion-(:'11ergy theory of yielding
ca11 he expresscd 1na.thematiMlly by

(3-2,))
1

G. l. 'l'aylor and H. Qui1111ey, Pruc. Ruy. Soc. (London), vol. 230A, pp. 323-362,

l!):) J.
2

W. Lode, Z. Physik, mi. 3G, pp. 9!::l-9a!J, l!J2(i.

64

Mechanical
Fundamentals

[Chap. 3

This is the equaton of an ellipse whose major scmiaxis is y2 uo and

whose minor semiaxis is V% uo.
A convenicnt w:1y of comparing yielding critcria for a twodimern,ional statc of slress is with a plot such as Vig. 3-5.
otc that
thc maximnm
shcar-strcss tlieory and thc distor
l.ion-energy lheory predict the
samc yielcl stress for conditions
of uni
Distortior1

energy theory

"-- MoKimum
sheor stress
theory

Fig. 3-5. Compnrison o yicifl criteria

for
plane stress.

axial stress and ba.lanced biaxial

stress (u 1 = u2). The greatest di
vergence betwccn thc two tbeorics
occurs for a sialc of pure shear
(0-1 = -u,). H has already been
shown t.hat. for this st:c of stress
thc shear-strcss law prcdicts a yield
stress whi.ch is 15 per cent lower
than the value given by t.hc distor
tion-energy criterion.
A very sensitive method of dif
fo1ent.iating betwcen the two yield
criteria is thc procedure adopted by

Lodc of determin ing thc effcct of

thc intermcdiat.c principal stress on
yieldng. Acconliug to Lhe maximum-shear-stress law, lhere should he no
effect of the value of thc intermedia.te stress,,a. Thus, (0-1 - u3)/uo = l.
lor the distortion-cncrgy thcory, to account for the jnftuence of the
intermedia.te priucipal strnss, Lodc introd uced t.he parameter , C(t!lcd

Lode's stress para-meter.

(a-26)
Solving this cquai.ion for u2 and eliminating 0-2 frorn Eq. (:3-12) rcsults in
(3-27)

Experimen tal data plot much better a.gainst gr. (3-27) tha.n against the
maximum-shear-stress eqna.t.ion, indicati ng that the intermediatc
princi pal stress }ias au iufluence on yieldi11g.
A11othcr contributiou of Lode was thc iutroductm1 of a. strnin
parameter v.
(3-28)

wlierc

LlE

is a finite increment. of stmin.

A plol., of ngainst v should

SG1c. 3-6J

Elements of the Theory of Plosticity

65

yicld a st.r:ght line at 45 to lhe axis if t,J1e metal bclwvcs accor<ling to

the Levy-\'on }Iiscs cquat.ions of plast.icit.y (see Sec. 8-9). l\ los.t mctals
show somo sligh t bul system:itic de\'ation from Lode's rela.tionship = v.

3-6. Octahedral Shear Stress and Shear Strai n

The octnhedrnl stresscs are a purt ieular sel, of Hl ress fu11ctions which
are import.m1t iu t he f.lrnory of plast.icity. Thcy are the st,resscs acti11g
on thc faces of a threc-dimcnsional octahedron which hns the geometric
propcrty that. t.hc faces of the pbucs make equal angles with each of thc
lhrce princi pal directions of stress. For such a gcornetric body, the anglc
bet.ween the normal to one of t.hc faces and the 11earnst. priucipal axis is
5444', 11nd the coslie of this anglo is 1/ y3.
The stress act,ing on each f,H'e of the oct.ahedron crn be resol ved I int.o
a normal octuhedral stress u.ot all(l un ocla.hcdial ::;hcar st.re;-;s lying in t.he
octahedral phme, r.... Thc normal octahedral sl.rnss is cq11al t.o t he hyclro
statc componeut. of thc total stress.
O'
O'oct

+ +

= --

0-2

<13

-3

11

= O'

(3-29)

Thc octahcdral she:1r stress r.,., is given by

Since the normal octahcdral stress is a hy<lrostatic stress, t. cannot. pro

duce yielding in solid materials. Thcrefore, the octahcdmI shcar stress
is the compouen t of st.ress rcsponsiblc for pl:.tstic deformut iou. In this
rcspcct., it. is :uwlogous to the stress <lmrator.
If i t is assumed that a cri tica! octahcdral shcar stress determines yield
ing, thc fnilurc critcrion can be wriltcn as

'""' =
llo =
1
1
- u,) )

or

+ (0-2

-:-=- [(<11 -

u2) 1

[(u1 - <12)

- O's)

+ (<12

- 0'1)

(0'2 - O'a) 2

2 1

(0'3

2. O'o
(3-31}

v 2
Si11ce Eq. (3-31) is identical wilh the cquation alrnady <lerived for the
distortion-<mcrgy theory, t he t.wo yelding theories give the same re:;ults.
In a sense, thc oct.ahedrnl theory <n11 be l'onsidered the stres. equivalen.l of
the dstortion-c1tcrgy thcOl'y.
Ac<!ordiug t.o this t.lwory, th( otuhedral

A. X:tdai, "Thcory of Flow ami Fracture of Solids," 2d cd., vol. 1, pp. !)9-105,
l\IcGraw-Hi!l Book Company, Jnc., Ncw York, L950.

66

Mechanical Fundamentals

{Chap. 3

shear stress corresponding to yielding in u nia.xal stress is given by

v2

T..t

,.

ero =

(3-.'32)

0.4, lo-o

Oct.ahedral strains are referred to the samc thl'ee-dimensional octahe dron

as t.he octahcdral strcsscs. The ochlhcdral linear stra.in is given by
E

Eoct

+ E2 +

E3

(3-33)

Octahedral shear strain is given by

'Yoct

%[(E1 - E2)

(E2 - 3)

(E3 - E)

P'

(3-34)

3-7. lnvarants of Stress and Strain

His frequently useful to simplify the representaton of a complex state
of stress or strain by means of invariant funct.ions of stress and strain.
If the plastic stl'ess-strain curve (the flow curve) is plotted in terms of
invaria.nts of stress and strain, approximately the same curve will be
obt.ained regardless of the state of st,ress. For example, the fiow cur-ves
obtained in t uniaxial-ten sion test and a biaxial-torsion test of ti thin tube
wi th interna! pressUl'e will coincide when the curves are plotted in terms
of inva.riant stress and strain f unctions.
Nadai Ihas shown that t.he octahedral sbear stress and shear strain are
invariant functions which describe the flow curve inclependcnt of the type
of test. Other frequently uscd invariant functions are the effecti ve, or
8ignificant, stress and strain. Thcsc quant.itics are dcfincd by thc follow
ing equations for lhe case where the coordinaLe axes correspond to the
principal dircctions:
Effective or signiftcant stress
(: -35)
Effecti ve

01significnnt

st.rain
(3-8G)

Note that both dfoctive stress an<l effective strnin reduce to the axial
normal component of stress und strnin for a tensile test. These val
ues
1

A. Nadai, J. A ppl. Phys., vol. 8, p. 205,

rn:H.

67

Elements of the I hory of Plasticity

Sec. 3-81

arn also related to thc octahcdral shcaring stress and strain, as cau he
sccn by compari ug Eqs. (:{-30) and (:{-3-l) wilh the above equalions.
1'0,i

. lrj -

V -E

(:3-37)

Drucker 1 has pointed out that, t.herc are a largc number of diffcrcnt
functions of stress a1Hl stra,i n which migh t serve as i nvarian t stress and
strnin para.meters. For example, }1e shows th:it combincd stress data for
aluminum-a.lloy tuhes show hettcr areement when the equivalent shNtr
ing stress r.Q, dened helow, is plotte<l agaim,t octahedral shearing strain
instcad of r,,, being plottcd against 1'oci

(-38)
whcre J2 and .J a are i nvarian t,R of the stress deviat,or. Thern appears to
be no tlleoretical or experimen tal ju st,ificatio11 for ehoosing invariant. stress
and stra.iu paramcters othcr t-hau U1c clo,,mness of agrecment, with thc
da:rnd mathematical convcnicnce.

3-8. Basis of the Theories of Plasticity

The development of a ge1wralize<l t hcory of plasti<ity, with the same
wide applicability as thc theory of clul-t icity, ha8 not progressed rapidly
because of the com ploxity of t.he prohlem. The 11hcren t difliculty in
developing; tl simple mathcmat.iral dcscdpton of plastici ty les in the foct.
tJrnt plastic dcformation is osscntially an irrnvcrsible process. While elastic
deformatio11 <lepcnds only 011 the initia.l and fi nal states ()f stress or strain
and therefore the rcsults are indcpcndent of the path along which the
load is rcal'hcd, in plastic defornrn.tion the total plastic strain depends not
only 011 the fi nal load but also on t he path by which it was rcachcd.
Thcrcforc, in plastic deformation, thc type of load cycle deter min< sthc
struin inncm<!BL The fi11al vnlne of a plastic-strain. component is givcn
by tlw integral of the incremen ts of thc pla,stic-st.rain component ovcr thc
loading history that the material ha::: 1mderg01H}.
A particular condition of loa<li ng which simplifics the analysis is propot
tional loading. For proportionul loa<ling, the stress components i nr.rcase
iu constan t ratio to each other.
d111

d11z

dua

For this type of loading, the stmins can bo exprc:ssetl in terms of thc fi nal
stress stute becu11,.;e the final tn'!-lS st.tLt.e spccifies the st.1ess hi:::tory .

D. C. Urucker, ./. App/. Mech., vol. lll, pp. 3,HJ-357, 19-19.

68

Mechanical Fundamentals

[Chap. 3

Mn thematical t.Jieories of plasticity can be dividcd roughly into two

typcs. De.formation theorie.<; relate the stress to t he strain, while fiow
theories relate t.he stress to the st.rau rat.c, ot thc vdocity of stntin.
Deformation t.heories u t.ili7.e n n :wern.gi n process ovcr thc ent,irc defot
mation history :tlld rehte t.he total plast.ic st.rain to thc fina.!stress. This tpe
of theory is valid when the material is s11bjectcd to proporfmal loading,
but, it is not generally considered to be reliable 1 when the dil'ec t ion of
loading is cbanged dudng the t est. Flow t.heorics consider a. suc cesson of
infinitesimal increments of distort.on in which the im;ta.n t.aneous stress is
rela.ted to t.he incremen t of the sti-ain rate. Because a fiow theor.y
consi<lers t.he instant.aneous deformation, it is beUer able to describe large
plastc deforma t.ions.
There a.re :t nu mber of genera.) assumpt.ions which are comrnon to all
plasticity t,heories. Thc metal is collsidered to he con tinuous ami iso
tropic. The principal axes of plastic stress and strain are assumed to
coincide at all ti mes. Time effect.s are usuaJJy neglected, so that visco
ela.st.ic materia.Is are excluded from t.he theories presented i n this chapter.
Fo1the val ues of stress usually encountered, it, is a very good assumption
t.o com;ider that volmne 1'ema1'.ns conslanl. Tbis also leads to the usefnl
relation that the sum of the principal trne strains is equa.J to zero.
E1

+ + =
E2

E3

Constancy of volume also requirestha.t Poisson's ratio must increase

from its elastic val ue to a value of 0.5 for the plastic condition.
Experiments show t.h:,it Poisson's ratio increases with progrcssive pla.stic
strn.in to this limiting value, but. frequcntly the incorrcct assumption
is made t.hat.
11 = 0.5 for all values of plastic strain.
unfortunately, there is no simple relationship bctween stress and str:n
in thc plast.ic rcgion such as cxists with elastic dcformation. An obvious
simplification is to n.ssume that plastic flow occms at a constant value of
flow stress, i.e., that thcrc is no strain hardcniug. Plasticity t.heory
bascd on ideal pla.stic hehavior has bcc11 dcvloped further t,han theories
whieh consider t.he strain hardcning of thc metal. One way to t.ake ttn.in
luJ.l'dening int.o considcration is t o use cxpcrimcnt.al data plot.t.ed
:tsinvari ant stress-strain f u1tctions. In analyscs of forming opemtions
involving hrge plastic strains, it is cornmon practice to allow for st,niin
hardcning hy using an avera.ge val ue of yicld stress.
Thc fomrn.t.ion of many plasticity theories is bnsed on thc prcmise
t.hat the stress deviator is proport,ion:1l to t.he strnin incmmcnt.. This is
equivalcnt to sayiug t.hat Lode's stress a11d strnu paramet.ers u.re eqnal,
1 Arguments t,o show that deformation t.heories of 1,lastic:ity should be valid for
loacling paths otlwr t,han proportional loadiug h:we bee11 givcn hy ll. Budiansky,
J. Appl. Mech., vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 259-2G4. 1!)59.

Sec. 3-91

Elemen!s of the Theory of Plasticity

69

= v. Alt hough devintions fmm 1,odc's rdat.ionship h:we been shown

by cxperimcnt , it appenrs t hat t hc proportionalit.y Lcl,wten stress dcvi

:or and strain incremen t ii:: u reasonably good approximat.ion.
To provide additioual .simpli tic:tt.ion to t he analysis, it is oftcn assurncd
t hnt thC' bo<ly ttets ns n. ngid plast ic nrn.t<'rinl. \Vit h this ass11mpl.io11, ali
clastic st.rnin i:,; 11eglrctcd, a11d t he total :,;t.rni11 :,; considcrcd to he
cntirely plastic. This is a suitaLlc a:mmpt ion whcn th<J plastc strain is
large, so that the elast ic strains are ncgligible hy comparisou. Howevcr,
i n many problems thc body is straiucd ouly slight ly beyon<l tlw yiPld
strnss, so that t,hc elastie and plastic strains are of compamble magnitudc.
For this situation, it is ueccssa.ry that, the clast ic stmins be considcre<l i11
the analysis. The total strain is thcn the snm of the clastic and plastic
strain.
(a--10)

Ilowcver, bccauf-ic of the assnmpt ion of constancy of volume, the plast.ic

componen t of t.he hydrostatic compo11e11t of strain must l>c cqua.J to zero.
E

'"

%(E/'

Ep

EsP)

Tlmrefon, ilw p!ast ie-:;trnin c.leviator is equal io thc phust.ic t'ltrain.

3.9.

Flow

Theories

Rigid Ideal Pla stic M aterial

A flow thcory for a rigid ideal plastic material bnsed on thc propor
tionalit.y betwceii strc:;s deviator ami strain rato is thc outgrowt.h of work
by St. Venant, Levy, and Von i\Jiscs. Thc Levy-Von i.Vlises equations are
givcn below for a gcnernl coorc.linate systcm. >. is a. proportionality constant,
and ""' is t.ho hydrostat ic componcn t of stress. otc that a dot over t he
symhol for strnin indicat.es the time derivn.t.ve of stran, i.e., tl1e strain
rate.
= A)',;
= A--y,,,
= A"(,;z

T,.y
T,
T:

(3--12)

In terms of t,he principal stresses, the Lfffy-.Yon l\Ii::;es equations can

be written
(3-43)

These equat.ion:,; are similar to the equations of viscosity for nu incorn

pre::,si ble fluid. Thc import:rn t, differcnce is t hat for tite case of the fl uid
the proport .iona.lity constn.nt X is a, true material const:1nt, thc coefficicnt

70

lChap. 3

Mechanical Fundamental!

of viscosity. For the ca.se of the phistic body, the value of A depends on
the valucs of stress and strnin. A can be cvaluated when thc yield cri
tcrion is cstablished.
Thc Yon :Mises yield criterion is given by

J 2 = 1c
(3-44)

01'

Substituting Eqs. (3-43) into Eq. (3-44) 1esults in

J

,\ 2(El2

'l'he quan tit;y E 12 +

22

+ E2+ 2)
E a

- (.

(3-4,5)
is an invariant of strain rntc. Substituting

+
Ea2

Eq. (:3-45) ba.ck into Eqs. (3-,rn) givcs

,
U

V2 uo1
= [3(12

(3-46)

+ 22 + a2)P1

Complctely anttlogous equations follow for

a;.

u aud

Equations (3-43) can be wl'i tten

Zo-1 -

6>..

= dt

ua

<12 -

de1

6X
2112 - (7'

. = dt

- (7' 3

dE2ua -

G>..

u1 -

u2

= dt

dEa

Eliminatiug 6'Ajdt from these equati011s results in

2111 -

172 -

173 dE1

2u2 -

/13 -

17

dt:2

2u1 2aa dE3

<12 -

113

<T -

-2

de1

(3-47)

(3-48)
Thc :bove two equations, plus the consta.ncy-of-volume relationship
E2 + E3 = O, constit.ut.e a system of differen tial equations that must
be integratcd over a particular stress path or strain path for the solution
of a particular problem.
E1

Elustic-Plast fr JV/ aterial

The extension of the Levy-Von Mises cquations to thc <:onsidcration
of hoth elastic :1nd pla.stie strains has bcen primarily t he work of Prandtl
aud Heuss. ln discussing this thcory it will be nccessary to differentiate
hctween the ela:;;tic st.ran E8 and t.he pbstic strain Er. Assumi ng that

Sec. 3-9]

Elemnts of the Theory of Plasticity

71

t.he rate of change of plastic strain is proportional to thc stress deviator

rcsults in

(3--!9)
The time derin1tivc of Hookc's law exprcssed i n t.erms of stress ftud strain
de,iators [Eq. (2-50)] gi,c:-; t he co1Te,-ponding equntion:-; for clast.ic st,rain.
(3-50)
Combiuing Eqs. (3-49) and (3-50) rcsults m expressions for the time
derivativc of total slrain.

If it. j:; aiisumcd t hat the Vou :\Ii1,es critcrion of yiclding flpplies and Lhat
there is no strain hardening,
From Eq. (3-44)

.i2 =

J=.

'( ')2

+ 171z .Uz + '( ')2 = Q

O' <11

( ' ''

(3-52)

CT3 0'3

'l'his e.xpression can he usc<l to cli rniuate the proport ionality constant
X from Eq. (:1-51). Howcvcr, to simplify tlw alg;ebra, the quantity :;
i11t rodue:cd. 1 i:'- t he mtc of <'h:u1ge of stnlin energy i nvolYed in dis
tortion, as oppoed t o t he strai11 cucrgy requi red for ,olumc cha11ge.
(3-53)
By using Eqs. (J-52) and (3-53) and t he yield critcrion J
possiblc t.o obtain the rclationship
2G

= 2x1;

k2, it is
(3-54)

The stress-strain rela tion:, of Heuss's equations are obt.aiue<l by s11bsti

t11ting E<. (:3-5-1) into E<. (:3-,52) ancl sohing for thc strcs8 mtc.

., = 2(1
' y (/

<11

a.2,

E -

?-G (

:2172 <1')

_ '3),)
u2')

(3-55)

-<10

., - 2G E3
(- :3(/
2qt 173
1

'13 -

Thesc equatons give tlie ratc of changc o lhe stress dcviator as long as
= /..: 2 :.rn<l > O. To get t he rate of change of st.ress,it is uecessary
to rernember t.hat 0-1 = u; + u ' . From Eq. (2-51)

.J 2

(3-56)
1

This derivation fol\ows the proce<lure givcn by Prager ami Hodgc, op. cit., pp.

27-2H..

72

[Chap. 3

Mechan ical Fundamentals

\Vhe11 t.he stress is in t.he c]astic ra.nge, or in unloading from the plastic
region , Eqs. (3-55) do not. apply. The pro}er cquat.io1ts are given by the
elasticity equftt.ions like .Eq. (2-50).

3-1 O. Deformation Theories

Hei1cky proposed t.hat. for small st.rains the stress devator could be
considered proportioria.l to the strain dcvia tor.

u' = 2Grt'

(3-57)

Elastic strains are ncglcctcd in Eq. (3-57). Gr is a plastic slrnar modulus

which varics depcnding upon the values of stress and straiu. Because
of the assumptfon of co11stancy of volmne, l' = O, and E' = t. There forc,
Eq. (a-57) can be expanded in t.erms of principal stresse,; arnl .strains lo
givfi

'l'hc analogy is apparent between t.he right.-hftnd side o Eqs. (H-58) and
the familiar equations of elasticity expressing strain in terms of the
principal stresses [Eqs. (2-2:.{)]. Jt'or the plastic case, Poisson's ratio has
been taken equal to
- EP can be
considercd to be a plastic mod1dus that
1is adually a variabl< depencling upon
I
/
the stress ancl strain. The evaluation
I
/
of El' from an invariat1I, strcss-sLrain
c:urve is shown in Fig. :{-6.
/ .i,_Ep

')

(3-59)

ra----- (: - -->1.
Sntf ico t strc!

Fi9. 3-6. Den11itiou of E

Nadai 1 has dcvelopcd rclatonshps

simila.r to Eqs. (-58) based on t.he
equal ity of Lode's stress and si.rai n
pn.rrun

ctors. The fact that . = v leads to the co1tclusion tlmt the rntios of
thc principal shearng stresscs to lhe pl'ucipal shearing strains are equal,
1

A. Xadai, "Plasl.iciLy," pp. 77-7!>, :.\IIcCr:i.w-Hill Book Corupuny, lm.:., :'.'l'cw York,

l!):31.

Sec. 3-11)

Elements of the Theory of Plasticity

73

an<l from these three relation ships t.he equalions can be dcrived. It is
for this reaso11 t.hat. rehtionships like Eqs. (:3-58) are sometimcs called
N adai's cq11utioJ1s.
In a dcformatiou thcory, sud1 a8 j; given hy t.he Hencky or :.dai
cquatious, the total plnstic st rain is prowl't.ional t o tlw st.rc:-.s deviator,
whilc in a flow t heory, such a.s is givcn by thc He11ss cquat.ions, thc i
ncrcmcnt.s of plastic stmin are proportional to thc 81re;;:-; dcviutor. Thc
Hencky t.heory givcs rcsults in ngrccmc11t wit h t he incremental or flow
thcory provided t.ha t t he principal axrn, of si re s n.nd strain rcmaiu coinci
de11t during thc straini11g proccss and providcd th proportional loading is
mu.iutained. Thc Ilcncky theory is not :,:atil:'fact.ory for large defor mat.ions,
but i t is of ten used for small plastic str:i.ins hecuuse it offcrs cert:1in
mat.hcmatical convcniences.

3-11 . Two-dimensional Plastic Flow-Plane Strain

Tn rnany pra.dical problems, such as rolling ami drn\\'ing, ali tfo,pl:.i.10meuts can he consi<lered to be limitcd to tlle :cy plane., so that strnins in

f ,:,
z

Punch.

J(

1
Punch

z
y

y
=O

(al

(b)

fig. 3-7. :\[ctho.-ls of dcvcloping plastic coustraint.

the z direction can be n('gleclcd in the analysis. This is known as a con

dition of plane slran. Whc11 a problcm is too difficult, for an cxact t.hree
dmensional solulion, a good ndication of t,hc dcformatiou and forces
required ca.11 of ten be obtained by consideration of thc nnalogous planc
st.rain problcrn.
Sincc a pbstic material tcuds t.o deforrn in all dircctons, to dcve.lop :i.
plane-strnin condit io11 it is necessary to constrnin thc flow in 01w direc t.iou.
Constrni nt. can be produce<l by!rn externa! l11hric:1lcd barrier, such as ::t
die wall (Pig. ;,-7a), or it. can arisc from a st.uation where ouly part of thc
material is dcformed and thc rigid material outside t.he pla.stic region
prevenls thc spreud of d( format.ion (Fig. :3-7b).
Even t.hough the stmin in one of the principal direct.ions is equal to

74

Mechanical Fundamentals

(Chap. 3

zero for plane strain, it docs not follow that t.here is zero stress in this
direction . Jt can be shown 1 that for phme st.l'ain u, = (cr., + u:.,)/2 or
u
If this value is substituted into the expression for
3 = (u 1 + u2)/2.
the
Von Mises crit.crion of yielding, the yicld criterion for plaue strain bccomcs
<11 -

cr2 = _

l.li:iu0

- <1n

( {-60)

v :3

The maxmnm- shear-stress criterion of yielding can be exprcssed by

u3 = u0 = 2k. However, with the plane-strain condition dnfining
tbe value of u3, the mnimum pri ncipal st.ress will be u2 and the shear
st.rcss criterion should be writt.en

<1 1 -

<T -

1T1 = ITO =

27c

(:3-61)

In .Eq. (3-61) k is the yield stress in pure shea.r. However, base<l on the
Von 1\ilises criterion of yielding the rcla.t.ionship bet.wcen t.he tensile yicld
stress and the yield stress i n shear [Eq. (::l-21)] is givcn by ero = -./3 k.
Therefore, l:q. (3-flO) beeomes cr1 - u2 = 2k. Tlws, for plane-strain con
ditions, the two yicld crit.eria are equivalent, an<l it can be considcre<l
that two-dimcusjonal flow wi.11 oceur \'Vhcn thc shcar stress rcachcs a
critica! value of k. Equatiou (:{-61) is equally valid when writ.leu .in
terms of the st,ress dcvifttor.
(3-62)

3-12. SIip-field Theory

Considcta volume elemeut in plirne st.rain within a plastic region of a
body. Figure 3-8a represents the two-dmensional statc of stress with
respcct to arbitrnry cartesian coordi natcs. .It is possihlc lo determine
t.hc principal planHs snch that t.he shea.r st.l'esses vauish (Fig. 3-8b). The
pri ncipal st,rcsscs u.re simply f unction:;; of thc sphcrical component of
stress, ,/ ', and the shcaring stress k. k is 1. constant throughout the
plastic rcgion if .sl.rain hardcning is ueglccted, but u" varies from poin t to
poin t. The maximum shcar stress will occmon planes ,15 to the direc
tion of the principal strc.sses. TLus, thc cril.ical shea1stress k wll fst
reach its val ue ou these planes. This condit.ion is shown in Fig. :{-8c,
whc.re it. is seen tbat thc maximum shea.r stress occurs i n t.wo ort.hogonal
dircctions, <lesignat.ed a and (3. These l ines of mn.xmnm shcar stress are
ealled slip lincs. The slip li nes have the propcrt.y that. t.he shear strain
is a maxirnum a11d the linear stniin is zero t.angcnt, to their directou.
However, it should he ct.wefully notcd thn.t t.hc slip lines ju st referrn<l to
1 O. lloff man ali{!G.Sachs, "Introcluction to the Theory of l'lasticity for Engineers,"
p. 118, :\1cGraw- liill Hook Company, In c., ew York , 1!)5:{.

Elements of the Theory of Plasticity

Sec. 3-12]

75

are not the slip lines, or slip ban1ls, ohserved 1111ck:r the microscope 011 the
surfocc o}lastically dcformcd metal. Ths lattcl' t.ype of slip lincs will
he discusscd more f ully in thc 11cxt ehapt,cr.

(b)

(a}

(el

f ig. 3-B. Two-dimensional ist:ltc of strcisli in pl:me strnin.

Dy comparing Fig. :3-8b and e, it is sceu tJu th<, priucipal strcsscs luwc
a direction 45 to the slip lincs. The valucs of t,hc prindpal stresscs can
be detcrminetl if u" is known sirne
(3-63)
u = u"
k

a2

= u" - k

Jf u" is constan t throughout t he rcgion , the .:lip lines \\'ll D<!slrnigh t lincs.
u1 = O

/ Free

o
Fg. 3-9. Slip-line ficlcl at free surface.

Howm:er, if the slip Jines curve by an a11gle et,, thc following rclat.ionshi)s
hold:
u"

line

2/;<f> = constan t a.long a

u" - 2kef = constan t along {3

(:3-64)

lino
The slir, lnes at a free surface nrnst, make au auglc of -15 witli the
surfo.ce (Fig. :-U), sincc there ca11 be no rcsultant tangent.al force at a

76

Mechanical Fundamenta ls

[Chap. 3

free surface. Since there is no resultant normal stress at a free suriacc,

1 = O a11d by gqs. (3-63) u" = -k. Thcrcforc,u2 = -2k,:wd the trans
verse principnl stress is compressive witll a value of 2k.
As a fu rther example of the use of slip lincs, consider the deformation
of an ideal plastc metal by a fiat punch. 1 Thc friction betwecn the face
o-

Fis. 3-10. Slip-line lield prochwcd by inden tu,t.ion of tt punch.'

of the punch and the metal is considered to be ncgligiblc. Plastic defor

mation will first start, at thc corners of the punch and wll result in a
sli p-line field such as is shown in F'ig. 3-10. Consider the point M.
Since this is at a free slll'face, the normal stress is zcro and u" = k. In
accordance with Eqs. (3-(H), the equaLion of Lhis slip linc may be
written
u" + 2fc4> = k. There is no change in the value of u" until we reach
poi nt N, whcre thc slip line devia.tes from a straight, lino. In going from N
to Q, the slip linc turns through an angle q, = -n-2 so that its equa t,ion
at point Q is u" - 2k(1f"/2) = k. Sincc no furthcr change takes place in
<I> in going to point R, the principal stress normal to the surface at R is

or

+k

<T 1R

<TJR

= 2k (l

<T"

= (k

+ 2k

+k

i)

and
If we trace out a.ny of the other slip lines we shall find in thc

samc way
1
that Lhe normal stress is 21,;(l + 1r2). Therefore, the pr( ,;sure is uni
form over the facc of the punch a.nd is eqna.l to

1 D. Tabor, "Tbc l-fardn(is.s of Metals," pp. 34-37, Oxford Univcrsty Press, New
York, 1!)51.

Sec. 3-12]

Sincc k = uo/v3,

Elemen
ts of
the
Theory
of

(= 1 11'
+) v3
2

Umax 2uo
=

, ,
=

G"o

Plaslicit
y

Thns, t he t heory prcdid:s that. full-sc:i le plastic flow, wi t h thc rcsult ing
i11dcntation , wll occnr when the stress aeross the fa('e of thc pu11c!t rcaches
t hrrc t.imes t hr yicl<l Mcng;t.h in tension.
The example <lf1scribed ahon is rPlat i vPly 11i rnplc aml rcpre:-ents an
overidcalizcd situatio11. Howcvcr, thc metl1od of slip fieldR, sornet,i meR
callc<l t.he Hcncky plaslic-scetion mcthod, i:- un importan t. mmlyt.ical tool
for altacki1tg difficult problcms in phu,I icit.y. Il haR hPPll uscd in thc analysis
of two-dimcnsiotrn.l problcm,.; such as thc yidding of a notd1cd tcnsile har
1 ancl ihe hoi rolling of a sbb.z Pragcr 3 nnd Thomsen4 h:we givcn general
prorcdmcs for constructin slip-linc ficlds. IIO\YCV< t,lhere is no easy
mcthod of checking t.lie Yalidi t.y of :i soh1tion. Partial cxpcri mcninl
,eriic:ttion of t heoretr.ally determined slip-line fiel<ls hns been obtaincd for
mild stecl by ctchng tcch niq11cs; wl1ich deliueate the plas tically
deformed rcgions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hll, R.: "The l\lathematfoal Theory o l'lasticit.y," Oxford Uuiv,t,;ity Pre,;s, Ne\v
York, l!J50.
llol'man, O., an<l G. Sarhs: "lut.roduct ion to tite Tlwory o Pbstieity for En:?;inccrs,"
:'.lfoGr:1w-Hill Book Comp:wy, Inc., Xew York, l!l,:t
Na<lni, A.: "Thcory of Flow and Fradurc of Solids," 2d ld., YO!. I. :\ IeGmw-Ilill Book
Co111 pany, hw., Xow York, l!J:O.
Phillips, A. : "lntroduction to Phlsl.icity," Tlw Ron,ild Prc<.1s Company, Xew York,
195(.i.

Prnp;er, "':"An Jntroduction to Plastirity,'' Addison-Wesk,y .l'ublishiug Company,

Reading, ;,\Jm,:;., HJ5fJ.
---ami !'.G. Hodgc, ,Jr.: "Tlu..ory o Pcrl'<:tly Plnstic Solids," .Johu Wiley & Sons,
Jnc:., Xcw Yo1k, 1!)51.
1

R. Hill, Q11a.rt. J. .l!er,h. A,pl. Math, vol. 1, pp. -10-52, 1941).

J. M . Alexander, Proc. Jnst. M et:h. Engrs., ( /,ondon), \o!. Hi!J, pp. 102l-l030, 1!)55.

3
4

\V. Prnger, Trans. Hoy . I nsf. 'l'cch11ol., StodJw/111, no. Gri, lH ,:-l.
E. C. Tholli.;;c11, J. A p p/. Jl tch., vol. 24, pp. 81-8-1, l!l5i.

B. B. Hnndy, M eiulluryia, voL.1!), no. 203, pp. 109-118, 1954.