Int. J. Mevh. Svi. Pergamon Press. 1968. Vol. 10, pp. 343-354.

Printed in Great Britain

PLASTIC S T R E S S - S T R A I N M A T R I X A N D ITS APPLICATION

FOR T H E SOLUTION OF ELASTIC-PLASTIC PROBLEMS B Y
T H E F I N I T E E L E M E N T METHOD

Y. YA~DA and N. Yos~Mu~A

The Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
and T. SAKURAI
Mitsubishi Atomic Power Industries, Inc., Tokyo, Japan

(Received 5 September 1967)

Summary--A method is proposed for the solution of the continuum elastic-plastic

problems by means of the finite element approach. The method is based on a plastic
stress-strain matrix which is derivable by inverting the Prandtl-Reuss equations in
plasticity theory. The matrix is of quite simple form and facilitates the incremental
treatment of elastic-plastic problems. The present approach follows the indication of
Marcal and King's work, but uses the small and varying increments of load sufficient to
just cause yield in the successive elements, the continuum being divided into triangular
elements. As examples of solutions notched tension specimens under conditions of plane
stress are studied.

1. INTRODUCTION
MATRIX f o r m u l a t i o n s a n d digital c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m m i n g t e c h n i q u e s are r a p i d l y
revolutionizing t h e c h a r a c t e r of s t r u c t u r a l engineering, a n d in t h e a r e a o f
c o n t i n u u m m e c h a n i c s a n d / o r p l a t e a n d shell analyses t h e finite e l e m e n t m e t h o d
has b e e n f o u n d t o be a powerful i n n o v a t i o n p l a y i n g a v i t a l role. Being
s t i m u l a t e d b y t h e success of t h e new a p p r o a c h in t h e elastic p r o b l e m s , it is
quite n a t u r a l t h a t a t t e m p t s h a v e b e e n m a d e to e x t e n d t h e m e t h o d to cover
t h e non-linear p r o b l e m s . D u e a c c o u n t s of t h e recent efforts in t h e field of n o n -
linear p r o b l e m s ( p a r t i c u l a r l y of p l a s t i c i t y p r o b l e m s ) are g i v e n in t h e b o o k of
Zienkiewicz a n d Cheung 1 a n d in t h e p a p e r of Marcal a n d K i n g ~.
N o w it has b e e n well established t h a t t h e plastic d e f o r m a t i o n s are incre-
m e n t a l . A n d t h e r e f o r e refusing a n y t o t a l s t r a i n or d e f o r m a t i o n t h e o r y
a p p r o a c h e s , we follow in t h e p r e s e n t p a p e r t h e indication of Marcal a n d K i n g ' s
work. T h e i n c r e m e n t a l p l a s t i c i t y relations which are to be u s e d are t h o s e of
P r a n d t l - R e u s s o b e y i n g t h e y o n Mises yield criterion.
In the Prandtl-Reuss stress-strain relations, the strain-increment de~ is used and
related to the stress-increment da~. The relations together with the differential form of the
yon Mises yield criterion can be represented in matrix form by
(de} --- [Gp/(da) (1)
where {de} and {da) denote the column matrices of detJ and da~j respectively. The inverse
of equation (1) is written as
{da} -- [D'] {de}, [D,] -- [a,] -1 (2}
23 343
344 Y. YAmADA, N. Y0SHIMURA and T. SAKURAI

E q u a t i o n (2) has been expressed b y Marcal a as

d a , = ]:1
~, ~~a~ de J (3)

the coefficients 8adae~ being referred to as the partial stiffness coefficient~ b y Maxcal. The
purpose of Section 2 of the present p a p e r is to give a n explicit expression for [D~] of
e q u a t i o n (2), i.e. the plastic stress-strain m a t r i x for the y o n Mises material. The expres-
sion o b t a i n e d takes a quite simple f o r m a n d can readily be a c c o m m o d a t e d to the finite
e l e m e n t analysis. A t each i n c r e m e n t a l stage of t h e calculation which traces t h e expansion
of t h e elastic-plastic interface, it will be shown t h a t t h e requisite procedure is solely to
replace the elastic stress-strain m a t r i x [D ~] b y [D~] for t h e yielded t r i a n g u l a r elements.
I n Section 3, the procedures of calculation a n d t h e flow sequence for a c o m p u t e r
p r o g r a m in t h e present a p p r o a c h are outlined. I n m a n y respects our m e t h o d is similar to
t h a t of Marcal and King, b u t uses t h e small a n d v a r y i n g increments of load sufficient to
j u s t cause yield in t h e successive e l e m e n t s ; the load increments for e v e r y stage in our
calculation are accordingly specified as a consequence of t h e calculation itself. A l t h o u g h
t h e n u m b e r of stages (or t h e p e n a l t y in c o m p u t i n g time) for t h e solution m i g h t be aug-
m e n t e d , t h e a d v a n t a g e of t h e present m e t h o d is t h a t it enables us to trace the sequential
yielding of t h e elemenf~ in correct order. Moreover, it eliminates t h e i t e r a t i v e process as
u s e d b y Marcal for t h e e v a l u a t i o n of t h e m e a n stiffness coefficients.
F i n a l l y in Section 4, examples of our results are p r e s e n t e d a n d compared, if possible,
w i t h the existing solutions. T h e y concern tension specimens w i t h a V-notch of angle
a = 90 ° a n d a slit-notch, a = 0 °.

2. D E R I V A T I O N OF STRESS-STRAIN MATRIX
H o o k e ' s law for t h e isotropic elastic m a t e r i a l can be w r i t t e n in m a t r i x form as
(a} = E[D'] {e} = 2(1 +v) G[D'] {e} (4)
where {a} and {e} are the c o l u m n m a t r i c e s of stress a~ and strain et~ respectively, and [D *]
represents the 6 x 6 s y m m e t r i c m a t r i x which is

1--v v v 0 0 0
1--2v 1--2v 1--2v

v 1-v v 0 0 0
1 - 2v 1 - 2v

[D~]=~,.. v v 1--v 0 0 0 (5)

l-2v l-2v l--2v
0 0 0 ½ 0 0
o o o o ½ o
o o o o o ½
W e refer to [D ~] as the elastic stress-strain m a t r i x henceforward. As for o t h e r notations,
E , G a n d v are Y o u n g ' s modulus, t h e torsion modulus, and Poisson's ratio respectively.
E q u a t i o n (5) is the inverse of the laws c o n v e n t i o n a l l y w r i t t e n as
O-t
i~ , , a~t (6)

where a~s denotes t h e deviatoric stress, a , = a~ + a t + a,, a n d 8~j is K r o n e c k o r ' s symbol.

I t is well known t h a t e q u a t i o n (4) reduces for the state of plane stress to

a, = E[D'] e~ , [D*] = ~ 1 (7)

r~t, ~7~/ 0 (l--v)/2
I t m u s t be n o t e d here t h a t t h e shear components of strain in (4) and (7) are the engineering
ahoax strains, in contrast to the tensor definition of shear in (6).
 Plastic stress-strain matrix for the solution of elastic-plastic problems 345
The present formulation relies on the plastic stress-strain matrix [D °] for the yielded
elements which takes the place of the elastic stress-strain matrix [/9"]. A n explicit expres-
sion of the matrix IDa] for the von Mises material has been obtained b y Yamada 4. The
derivation, however, was presented in Japanese, so we recapitulate the procedures in
the following.
The P r a n d t l - R e u s s equations for the deviatorie strain-increment de~, during continued
loading are ~
de~ = a"0 d~.~ da~l
2G
where m
(8)
3 de ~ 3 d5
2 5 25H'
Adopting the usual summation convention, the equivalent stress 5 and the plastic strain-
increment de ~ are expressed as follows:
5 = 4(~ (TpOa,J),
i de ~ = 4(}de~jde~j) (9)

H'= dS/de" corresponds to the slope of the equivalent stress (5)/plastic strain (f~ee ~)
curve.
The yon Mises yield criterion and its differential form are respectively
c r i' j Clr~
' t5' (10)
a~j da~j = ~5 d5 = }5* H ' d~ (11)
Eliminating da~ from (8) and (11)
2Ga'o(de"o -- a"o d~) = } 5 2 H" d~
Solving for dA and making use of the relation of (io), we obtain
d~ = a °' de,j
' _ a o' dee

with
S = ~5 s 1 +~-~ (13)

' = a o d e ~ in the above equation (12), since a a = % + a ~ + a ,

Note the equality a •o de,, is
identically zero.
Now substituting cl~ of equation (12) back into (8), and recalling the definition for the
deviatoric strain-increment de~j
• de.
de o = d e e - 8,, - ~ - , d e . = de= + dey + de.

the deviatoric stress-increment da~t can be expressed as

• • d •
d a o = z ~ [a~,, - a o - - ~ - - - ) = z ~ [ a e , , - oo ~ - a,, - - ~ ) . (14)

The i d e n t i t y a o d8,~ = a~ de~ has been used in the above expression.

The t o t a l stress-increment d a o is b y definition

, E , 2 ( l + v ) G ~ ,~o
de,, = dao + ~ 8,, de,, = dao -~ 3(-~-2- 2v~ ~a ~'¢,,

Finally, substitution for da~ from equation (14) yields

d e e = 2G de,, + ~
v , ah deu\
$,~ d e , , - ao ~ ] (15)

Equation (15) is represented in matrix form by

{de} = E[D~] {de} = 2(1 +v) G[D ~] {de} (16)
346 Y. Y*~ADA, N. YOSHIMURA and T. SAKURA~
Equation (16) is completely similar to (4), and hence the modification called for in the
elastic-plastic analysis would be solely the replacement of [D °] b y [D ~] for the yielded
triangular elements a t the successive stages of calculation. The plastic stress-strain
m a t r i x [D ~] is symmetric and expressed in the explicit form b y

I 1--P ~2
O"x
SYM.

1 -- P Er~
1 -- 2~ S 1 -- 2 v S
p / t • P2
Erx O"z v a v az 1 --v as
1 1 - 2v S 1 - 2~ S
[D ~] = t i t
(17)
O'x "/"x ~
S S S
t i
O'x T t , z cry ~'uz o'z ~'yz ~'zv ~'uz ~ T~z
S S S S
t ¢
O"x T z x O'y 7 Z X O'$ TZX ~rxy T z x Tf/g T z x
½-~
S S S S
where S is given b y (13}. Equation (16) corresponds to the inverse of the complete stress-
strain relations 5 of Prandtl-Reuss. The original stress-strain relations have been reduced
to the single equation of (16), and it must be emphasized t h a t the elastic compressibility
as well as the strain-hardening characteristics of the material are incorporated in the
m a t r i x [D ~] of (17). Comparing (17) with (5), it can be seen t h a t the diagonal elements of
[D ~] are definitely less t h a n the corresponding diagonal elements of [De]. This a~nounts to
an apparent decrease of stiffness or rigidity due to plastic yielding. I n passing, it is
interesting to notice t h a t both normal and shear components of stress would suffer change
under combined stress fields, corresponding to the increment of either the normal or sheer
component of strain.
To conclude, it is rather surprising t h a t the simple explicit expression [D~] as given b y
(17) for the von Mises material has not appeared, as far as the authors are aware, in
previously published literature, notwithstanding the various formulations due to Pope e,
Marcal and King 2 and Marcal and PilgrimL

3. P R O C E D U R E S OF CALCULATION
I t has become clear from the preceding discussion t h a t available computer programs
developed for the elastic problems can be adjusted to the elastic-plastic problems with
minor modifications. Indeed the computer program in the present s t u d y has been obtained
b y modif~fing the elastic plane stress program PLA_N-version 1 due to Sakurai and
Yoshimura 8. The original program has been written on the basis of the well-known
triangular elements. Thus adopting the notations of Zienkiewicz and Cheung 1, the stiffmess
m a t r i x [k°] for the elastic elements is represented b y
[k~] = [B]rED e] [B] tA (18)
where t denotes the thickness of the element which is assumed to be constant, and A is
the area of the triangle. The m a t r i x [B] is given b y equation (3.10) of Zienkiewicz a n d
Cheung's book, and [B]r represents the transpose of [B]. Similarly for the plastic elements
Eke] = [B]rED~] [B] IA (19)
The stiffmess matrices [k°] and [k ~] are assembled to form the m a t r i x [K] of the whole body.
The overall m a t r i x [K] relates the nodal load-increment {dL} to the nodal displacement-
increment {dU} as
{d~} = EEl {dU} (20)
F o r the plane stress problem concerned in the following, the elastic stress-strain m a t r i x
[D'] is given b y (7), and it can be easily verified t h a t the plastic stress-strain m a t r i x IDa]
 Plastic stress-strain m a t r i x for the solution of elastic-plastic problems 347

of (17) is reduced to

da, ~ = E[Dv] d% (21)

r a~~+ 2P
a'. 2 + 2P
IDa] = R 2H' SYM" 1 (22)
Q] %+va;% t
tYv "4- r e ' =
t

L- l+v ~ l+v r~ 2(1 +v) I--~ (I --v) 52

where
2H' -2 T~w
P = -9--Ea + l - ~ v ' Q = R+2(1-v~)P (23)
and
R ~ a•t 2 + 2va®ay+
p i al,12 (24)
Again, d ~ in (21) denotes the engineering shear.
I n order to solve the equation (20) for each specified increment of load {dL}, the usual
unit dividing technique as used in F R A N 9 has been employed, since the matrices which
have to be inverted in the present analysis become very large. The computers used were
the H I T A C 5020E a t the Computer Center of the University of Tokyo and the IBM 7090
a t Mitsubishi Atomic Power Industries, Inc.
I n the following, some details of our procedures together with the flow sequence of the
program are presented.
1. Calculate elastic displacements at the nodes, and then elastic strains, stresses and
equivalent stresses 5~ a t each element for a test load. Let 5Smaxbe the m a x i m u m of 5 s.
2. Scale up all elastic values in order to induce the element of the m a x i m u m equivalent
stress 5~maxto first yield; the scale factor being r~ = Y/SSmax, where Y denotes the yield
stress of the material under consideration. Let {L6} be the load a t the initial yield or the
elastic limit.
3. Calculate [Dv] and thenceforth [k v] for the post-yield or continued loading elements.
IDa] and [k v] are given b y (17) and (19). I n the first cycle (or stage) of the program,
there would usually be a n only single post-yield element, i.e. the element which initially
yields a t load {Ls}. Note t h a t [Dv] is to be evaluated using the present stress within each
post-yield element obtained a t the end of the preceding cycle (or stage).
4. Synthesize or modify the stiffness m a t r i x [K] of the whole body. I n doing so, leave
the matrices [D ~] and [ks] of every element remaining in the elastic state as t h e y were.
5. Choose an appropriate test increment {AL T} of the load.
6. Solve (20) for {AL~, a n d then calculate stress-increment Aa~ and strain-increment
Ae~ a t each element.
7. B y making use of the following equation, calculate r for every element remaining
in the elastic state
F + ~/[F~+ 4(A-~a~)~( y2 _ 52)]
2(h-g~,~)~ (25)
F = (A-~a~)s - 25A5 T - (AST)~
where 5 is the present equivalent stress of the elastic element and A5 ~ denotes the incre-
m e n t of 5 induced b y th___eeload-increment {ALT}. 5 and A5 T are represented respectively b y
OP and PS of Fig. 1. Aa~ is defined b y
A--~T= ~/(~Aa~ Aa~r) = P--R, of Fig. 1.
F o r the plane stress problem concerned
(5 + A5r) ~ = (a~ + A a ~ ) ~ - (a~ + Aa~) (a~ + A ~ ) + (a~ + Aa~)~ + 3(r,~ + A ~ ) ~

The factor r of (25) being equal to the ratio PQ/PR of Fig. I, the product of {ALT}by r
348 Y. YAMADA,N. YOSHIMURAand T. SAKURAI

determines the load-increment sufficient to just cause yield in each elastic element. Fo r
the calculation of the factor r, the use of a double-precision subroutine program for taking
a square root is recommended.
8. Find the m i n im u m of the factor r in 7, and designate it rmln. Load-increment
rmia{AL a'} is sufficient to induce the elastic element of rmin to yield. F r o m now on, the
element is treated as a post-yield element, the remainder being left in the elastic state.
9. Multiply the nodal displacement-, stress- and strain-increments in step 6 by train,
and add to the present displacements, stresses and strains. Store the results.
10. Calculate and store the equivalent stress for each element.

initial'-~~ "N.R
yield circle / ~ ~,

I i

PR • , r • PQIPR
FIG. 1. Detei~nination of the load-increment 8ut~eient to just yield the
els~tie element.

l l . Calculate the increment A-~ of equivalent plastic strain for each post-yield element
using
A---~ = a~j A e . (26)
5(1 + H'/3G)
E q u a t i o n (26) can easily be obtained combining the second equation of (8) and (12). F o r
the plane stress problem
-- 25_., ,~
Ae~ = -~ -~ L(a= + v%) Ae~ + (a'~ + va'~) Aev + (1 - v) r=~ A~'x~,] (27)

where Q is given by (23). a;j, 5 and H" in (26) and (27) are related to the present state
(i.e. at the onset of each cycle or stage), Ae~ being the strain-increment obtained in step 9.
12. Check t h a t A--~ is positive for all the post-yield plastic elements. I f positive,
return to 3, otherwise stop computation. This closes the sequence.
A check on the sign of A'-~~ was included in our program following Marcal's work. We
have observed t h a t computers stopped with the message: "A--~~ is negative", after the
plastic region of non-hardening material expands to such an extent that large plastic
strains are possible without any practical increase of load. Though the implication of
A-'~~ < 0 has not been fully understood, it can be concluded that it is an indication that we
approach very close to the collapse load of limit analysis. Computational errors might
accumulate at the late stage of calculation and hence affect the accurate estimation of
A--'~% W h a t we really want to know in most cases, however, is not the limiting state, but
the state when the plastic strains are contained or the overall distortion of the body is of
order l I E times the mean stress.
I n our program, a provision is incorporated so t h a t some elements just prior to yield
can be included in the plastic elements, after the calculation of the equivalent stress 5 for
each element at step 10. This allowance is advantageous for saving computing time. I n
the examples given in the following section, elements of 5 >I 0.995 Y at step 10 are con-
sidered to be plastic (i.e. 5 -- Y) in the next cycle of calculation. An accompanying
modification of stresses and strains is necessary. When 5 = r ' Y (r'>~0.995) at step 10,
we multiplied the stored stresses and strains (at step 9) of the relevant element by 1/r'.
 Plastic stress-strain matrix for the solution of elastio-plastic problems 349
I t has been frequently found that numerical results obtained b y the finite element
method straddle or oscillate around exact values. I n the elastic-plastic problems where
the discrimlnation of plastic elements from elastic ones is required at every cycle of the
calculation, it would be imperative to use a finer mesh and appropriate mesh pattern.
As a criterion, the elastic solutions at the beginning should not exhibit an undue oscillation
or scattering.

4. E X A M P L E S OF NUMERICAL RESULTS
The procedure presented in the preceding section is believed to have almost unlimited
applications. The method accounts for not merely the strain-hardening characteristics of
the material b u t the change of shape due to large displacements. I n addition, it would be
a simple m a t t e r to take the unloading and/or reloading of the elements into account; the
necessary change of the program is considered to be small. Our first examples of applica-
t i o n are the V:notched and the slit-notched tension specimens.
(a) V-notehed tension specimen
Fig. 2 shows the plastic enclaves obtained for the V-notched (a = 90 °) tension specimen
with a notch depth to half-width ratio of 1 to 2 ; inset of the figure gives the details of the

---~Px

FIG. 2. V-notched tension specimen under plane-stress, showing

successive plastic enclaves in quadrant.

specimen. The material is assumed to be elastic-perfectly plastic with yield stress

Y -- 30 kg/mm 2. Note P represents the load per haft-width of the specimen. Fig. 3
traces the original results at some representative stages of calculation from which the
plastic enclaves of Fig. 2 have been drawn. Numbers encircled in the figures indicate the
relevant stages, e.g. n u m b e r 1 corresponds to the instant when yielding initiates at an
element adjacent to the notch root.
 350 Y. YAMADA, N. YOSH1MURA a n d T. SAKURAI

Fig. 4 s h o w s t h e l o a d (P)--deflection (~) c u r v e for t h e V - n o t c h e d t e n s i o n s p e c i m e n ;

deflection $ refers t o C (see i n s e t of Fig. 4) a l o n g t h e l o n g i t u d i n a l axis of t h e s p e c i m e n . I t
is s e e n t h a t n o d r a m a t i c c h a n g e i n t h e o v e r a l l stiffness or r i g i d i t y is e x p e r i e n c e d i n t h e
e a r l y stages. T h e l o a d - d e f l e c t i o n c u r v e h a s a s h a r p b e n d a t s t a g e 27, w h e n t h e p l a s t i c
zones, s p r e a d i n g i n w a r d f r o m b o t h sides of t h e n o t c h , m e e t first a t a p o i n t o n t h e longi-
t u d i n a l axis. T h e p l a s t i c zones, t h e n c e f o r w a r d , fuse a n d d e v e l o p v e r y r a p i d l y i n t o t h e
elastic regions. A t s t a g e 42, t h e c e n t r a l elastic r e g i o n d i s a p p e a r s , a n d so t h e p l a s t i c region
e x t e n d s e n t i r e l y across t h e m i n i m u m s e c t i o n of t h e s p e c i m e n . L a t e r a t s t a g e 51, t h e
c o m p u t e r s t o p p e d w i t h t h e m e s s a g e : "As ~ is n e g a t i v e . "

5909537'4 I(g

I I
i i

FIG. 3. P l a s t i c e n c l a v e s a t v a r i o u s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e stages o f c a l c u l a t i o n
( c o m p u t e r H I T A C 5020E).

D e n o t i n g t h e l o a d a t s t a g e 51 b y Pc a n d t a k i n g it t o b e t h e y i e l d - p o i n t or collapse l o a d
i n t h e p r e s e n t e x a m p l e , t h e r a t i o of-Pc t o A Y b e c o m e s 1.224; a r e a A b e i n g r e f e r r e d t o one-
h a l f of t h e m i n i m u m s e c t i o n (A = 20 m m 2, a n d so A Y = 600 kg). Hill 10 h a s o b t a i n e d a
c o n s t r a i n t f a c t o r P d A Y = 2/,]3 = 1.155 for a V - n o t c h e d t e n s i o n s p e c i m e n of n o t c h semi-
a n g l e n o t m o r e t h a n 70 ° 32' (total a n g l e a = 141 ° 4'). H i l l ' s slip-line field s h r i n k s or
d e g e n e r a t e s t o a single localized n e c k across t h e m i n i m u m section for n o t c h a n g l e
a ~< 141 ° 4'. O u r c o n s t r a i n t f a c t o r exceeds 2/~]3 a n d seems t o b e i n d i s a g r e e m e n t w i t h H i l l ' s
s u p p o s i t i o n s . H o w e v e r , i t m u s t b e n o t i c e d t h a t o u r e x a m p l e c o n c e r n s a s p e c i m e n of
finite l e n g t h , a n d h e n c e t h e s t a t e of stress i n t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d o f t h e n o t c h is d e p e n d e n t
on the end conditions. Under these circumstances, it would not be improbable that the
c o n s t r a i n t f a c t o r is s o m e w h a t raised. Fig. 5 shows t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e l o n g i t u d i n a l
stress o v e r t h e m i n i m u m s e c t i o n a t v a r i o u s s t a g e s of c a l c u l a t i o n .
A m i n o r d e t a i l h a s t o b e m e n t i o n e d . O u r e x p e r i e n c e i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e r e s u l t s are
h i g h l y d e p e n d e n t o n t h e m e s h p a t t e r n r a t h e r t h a n t h e m e s h size. T a b l e 1 c o m p a r e s t h e
numerical results obtained by various methods. Hexagonal patterns built up from
t r i a n g u l a r e l e m e n t s are p r e f e r a b l e . As s t a t e d earlier, a useful c r i t e r i o n is t h e oscillation or
s c a t t e r i n g i n t h e elastic solutions. T h e l o a d P~ a t first y i e l d n e c e s s a r i l y d e p e n d s o n t h e
m e s h size n e a r t h e n o t c h r o o t . F o r s h a r p n o t c h e s w i t h r o o t r a d i u s r -- 0, P~ m u s t b e zero
i.e. y i e l d i n g is i n i t i a t e d b y t h e first a p p l i c a t i o n o f load. E l a s t i c s o l u t i o n s for r = 0 are n o t
realistic. I n o t h e r words, w h a t we m e e t in real c i r c u m s t a n c e s are s t a t e s w h e r e t h e m i n u t e
 Plastic stress-strain matrix for the solution of elastic-plastic problems 351
I P (kg)

LOAD-DEFU~CnON CURVe ~@,-----@" @-

600

500

400

300

initial 2P C - -- 2P
20Q

/ I
(ram)

0.01 0"07. 0"03 0"04 0"05 0"06 0"07 0"08 0"0g 0"10 0"1! 0"12 0"13
I , f I I I = = t t I ,I I I
FIG. 4. Load-deflection curve for V-notched tension specimen.

o'. kg l mrn 2)

~~___--
3o

C
]@
20_
I
l®

IC

0 Ipmm 2]Omm

--NOTCH ROOT CENTER "--I

FIG. 5. Distribution of longitudinal stress across the m i n i m u m section
of 90 ° V-notched specimen; numbers encircled represent the stages of
calculation.
352 Y. YAMADA,N. Yos~r~tyJ~ and T. S A X U ~

elements (of the order of the grain size) near the notch root have yielded in some degree
under load. The elastic-plastic solutions at first yield correspond to these states, depending
upon the mesh sizes used in the calculation.

T A B L E 1. COMPARISON OF T H E lVIETHOI)S AND T H E NUMERICAL RESULTS

Present method Marcal and King

Computer H I T A C 5020E IBM 7090 IBM 7090

No. of nodes 144 149 Around 150
No. of elements 245 259 Around 250

Mesh pattern ~ ~ Not known

No. of stages or cycles 51 31 8

Time/stage 32 sec 135 see 113 see
Total computing time 29 min 70 rain 15 rain
P, 221.643 kg 277.211 kg --
P,/A Y 0.369 0.462 0.440
Pe 734.521 kg 715.280 kg --
PdA Y 1.224 1.192 1.232
PdP,, 3.314 2-580 2.8

(b) Slit.notched tension specimen

Figs. 6-8 show the results for the slit-notched tension specimen, giving in order the
plastic enclaves for one quadrant, the data for various stages of calculation and the l o ad -
deflection curve. The strain-hardening characteristics of the material (say aluminum in
the annealed state) are assumed to be expressed by ~ = 3.0+68.2s ~ for E~<0.022 and
5 = 4.5 for s~>0.022.

SPECIMEN
Y
i 20turn _~. 20ram

3~

7",200 kg/rnm 2
i 5

0"34
,..~"0 k g / r n m ='

3.0+6B.2~f (O<gP<O.022)
4.5 ( -g e > 0 . 0 2 2 )

FxG. 6. Slit-notched tension specimen under plane-stress, showing

successive plastic enclaves in quadrant.

I n the earlier stages, the plastic zones surround the notch root. In contrast to the
corresponding solution for the V-notched specimen, it can be seen t h a t the plastic zones
develop outward to some extent along the notch face NN. As the load is raised, the
 Plastic s t r e s H t r a i n matrix for the solution of elastic-plastic problems 353
plastic zones spread mostly toward the longitudinal axis of the specimen. For the slit.
notched specimen, we have been interested in the state of t b ; n ~ immediately after the
initiation of plastic yielding, so we stopped the calculation at stage 33 where the plastic

®
P=23.9190 kg P =38.9683 kg P'43:0334 kg ~ P" 46"5494 Kg

@ @
P" 48.0004 kg ,49"8760 kg P67 kg

Fzo. 7. Plastic enclaves at various representative stages of calculation

(computer HITAC 5020E).

P(kg)
60

50 LOAD-DEFLECTIONCURVE rT~ ~

30 initiql

Fzo. 8. Load-deflection curve for slit-notched tension specimen.

zones spreading from both sides of the notch root meet first on the longitudinal axis. On
the same basis, we have used a rather coarse mesh except in the region near the notch root
as can be seen from Fig. 7. Following stage 33, there would appear to be a sharp bend in
the load-deflection curve. I t seems, however, t h a t the bend is less pronounced for the
work-hardening material concerned.
354 Y. Y~MAnA, N. YosmMuPa and T. SAXURAI
Ewing and Hill 11 have thoroughly studied the limiting state at overall yield for the
corresponding notched specimens under conditions of plane strain. It would be of interest,
if somewhat academic, to extend the present analysis to cover the plane-strain problems
and compare with the slip-line solutions of Ewing and Hill.

5. C O N C L U S I O N S
T h e finite element m e t h o d is a convincing a n d powerful i n n o v a t i o n for the
solution of elastic-plastic problems. I n the present paper, applications to
c o n t i n u u m t y p e problems h a v e been exemplified. According to the m e t h o d
developed, t h e o n l y requisite is to replace the stress-strain m a t r i x [D e] for the
elastic state b y the corresponding plastic stress-strain m a t r i x [Dp]. I t appears
t h a t no p a r t i c u l a r difficulties would be faced in modifying the procedures
r e a s o n a b l y in order to solve the usual s t r u c t u r a l problems, such as trusses,
beams a n d frames; the solutions would be exact, since the n u m b e r of the
elements in these problems are finite.
W e recall t h a t the limit analysis (or the plastic-rigid approach) has been
unavoidable in the past, substituting for circumstances where elastic-plastic
problems h a v e long been practically i n t r a c t a b l e b y means of conventional
methods. N o w b y v i r t u e of t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of t h e finite element m e t h o d , it
has become possible to follow t h e h i s t o r y of the plastic deformations in a
v a r i e t y of problems. T h e r a t h e r unreal assumption of the p e r f e c t l y plastic
material or non-hardening plastic-rigid b o d y which has been indispensable
for limit analysis needs n e v e r be called for in the new approach. I f required,
t h e state of things at collapse can be visualized b y referring to t h e limiting
s t a t e of the elastic-plastic solution o b t a i n e d for t h e p e r f e c t l y plastic material.
Acknowledgement--The authors wish to express their thanks for the help of the Committee
for Structural Analysis of the Society of Steel Construction of Japan, whose sponsors are
the representative makers and consumers of iron and steel in Japan.

REFERENCES
1. O. C. ZIENKIEWICZand Y. K. CHEUNCLThe _Finite Element Method in Structural and
Continuum Mechanics. McGraw-Hill, London and l~ew York (1967).
2. P. V. MXReALand I. P. KING Int. J. Mech. Sci. 9, 143 (1967).
3. P. V. MxRe.~L, Int. J. mech. Sci. 7, 229 {1965).
4. Y . Y t ~ 3 ) A , Seisan Kenkyu 19, 75 (1967) (in Japanese).
5. R. HILL, The Mathematical Theory of Plasticity, p. 39. Clarendon Press, Oxford (1950).
6. G. G. POPE, Prec. Conf. Matrix Methods in Structural Mechanics, p. 635. Air Force
Inst. of Technology, Wright Patterson A.F. Base, Ohio (1965).
7. P. V. MA~CAL and W. R. PILGRIM,J. Strain Anal. 1, 339 (1966).
8. T. SAKURAI and N. YOSHr~U~A, Plan-Plane Stress Analysis Program, version-l,
User's Manual, Mitsubishi Atomic Power Industries, Inc.
9. IBM 7090/7094 FRAN Framed Structure Analysis Program, Programmer's Manual.
10. R. HILL, J. Mech. Phys. Solids 1, 19 (1952).
11. D. J. F. Ewr~cG and R. HILL, J. Mech. Phys. Solids 15, 115 (1967).