A plasticity model for calculating stress-strain sequences under multiaxial nonproportional cyclic loading

There is increasing demand for analytical methods that estimate the fatigue life of engineering components and structures with a high degree of accuracy. The fatigue life is determined by the stress-strain sequences at the critical locations. Therefore, these sequences have be calculated with sufficient accuracy for arbitrary nonproportional cyclic loading. Based on the experience with a variety of material models following macroscale continuum mechanics approaches, an improved set of constitutive equations is proposed. The stress-strain behaviour of a commercial structural steel has been investigated experimentally. Firstly, the results of this experimental study serve to identify the material parameters comprised in the model. Secondly, the predicted stress-strain paths are compared to their experimentally determined counterparts as well as to paths predicted by other models. The overall accuracy of the proposed model is quite satisfying, especially as far as calculated amplitudes are concerned. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.