A new class of distributed-element models for cyclic plasticity. I: Theory and application. II: On important properties of material behavior (Q1317503)

A class of multi-dimensional distributed-element models (DEMs) is proposed for constitutive modeling in cyclic plasticity. A new formulation in the ``invariant-yield-surface'' space is presented in which no kinematic hardening rule is needed to account for the subsequent yielding and strain hardening behavior. This physically-motivated class of models is not only mathematically simple but also parsimonious in parameters. By establishing some important theorems on the behavior of the DEMs, the property of erasure-of-memory exhibited by real materials is shown to be closely related to the existence and uniqueness of equilibrium states, which is in turn a consequence of the property that the admissible stress region bounded by the limit surface associated with DEMs is bounded and strictly convex.