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Recent progress in element technology in large scale explicit finite element codes has opened the way for the solution of elastoplastic shell problems of unprecedented complexity. This new capability has focused attention on the numerical issues involved in the implementation of elastoplastic material models for shells, particularly when vectorizable algorithms are required for supercomputer applications. This paper reviews four algorithms currently in the literature for plane stress and shell plasticity. First, each of the four methods is described in detail. Next, an accuracy analysis is presented for each algorithm for perfectly plastic, linear kinematic hardening, and linear isotropic hardening cases. Finally, a comparison is made of the relative computational efficiency of the four algorithms, and the importance of vectorization is illustrated.

Semi-implicit type cutting plane method (CPM) and fully implicit type closest point projection method (CPPM) are the two most widely used frameworks for numerical stress integration. CPM is simple, easy to implement and accurate up to first order. CPPM is unconditionally stable and accurate up to second order though the formulation is complex. Therefore, this study aims to develop a less complex and accurate stress integration method for complex constitutive models.

Two integration techniques are formulated using the midpoint and Romberg method by modifying CPM. The algorithms are implemented for three different classes of soil constitutive model. The efficiency of the algorithms is judged via stress point analysis and solving a boundary value problem.

Stress point analysis indicates that the proposed algorithms are stable even with a large step size. In addition, numerical analysis for solving boundary value problem demonstrates a significant reduction in central processing unit (CPU) time with the use of the semi-implicit-type midpoint algorithm.

Traditionally, midpoint and Romberg algorithms are formulated from explicit integration techniques, whereas the present study uses a semi-implicit approach to enhance stability. In addition, the proposed stress integration algorithms provide an efficient means to solve boundary value problems pertaining to geotechnical engineering.

Various stress return algorithms in elastoplastic analyses using the finite element method require the evaluation of the contact (or penetration) stress state (Figure 1), defining the transition from elastic to elastoplastic behaviour. Various iterative schemes are commonly used to evaluate contact stress state with a great degree of precision, as subsequent analysis process (forward Euler, mid‐point rule stress return scheme) is greatly affected by the evaluation of the contact stress state, as has been stressed by several authors.

In this paper, we examine the influence of the third invariant in computational plasticity. For this purpose we consider the extended Leon model, an elasto‐plastic model for concrete materials which accounts for the difference of shear strength in triaxial compression and triaxial extension. Consequently, the deviatoric trace of the loading surface is no longer circular like in von Mises and Drucker‐Prager plasticity. In the limit it approaches the triangular shape of the Rankine condition of maximum direct stress. Thereby, elliptic functions describe the out‐of‐roundness of the circular trace in terms of C¹‐continuous functions of the Lode angle. The algorithmic aspects of the third invariant considerably complicate the computational implementation since the radial return method of J₂‐plasticity does no longer maintain normality leading to loss of deviatoric associativity. The paper will focus on the computational issues near the three regions with high curvature at the compressive meridians with special attention on the lack of convergence of the plastic return algorithm and its slow rate of convergence in these regions. The algorithmic discussion at the constitutive level will be augmented by the axial plane‐strain compression test in order to illustrate the effect of the third invariant at the structural level of finite element analysis.

A numerical model to simulate the impact of high temperature on the behavior of conventional concrete under chemoplastic framework is developed and validated. The model is based on new formulation of a constitutive law with new chemoplastic potential. By overlaying the chemoplastic potential on the modified Etse and Willam yielding surface, both defined on the Haigh-Westergaard coordinates, it was found that the two curves do not undergo similar stress state at the same strength parameter. For an adequate evaluation of normal vectors, each surface is forced to pass through the current stress state. Keeping the loading surface unchanged, the calculation of the plastic potential need to be modified. The proposed constitutive model is validated by comparing predicted and experimental data. The model is shown to be accurate to predict different stress states of concrete under different temperature levels.

Numerical solutions in computational plasticity are severely challenged when concrete and geomaterials are considered with non‐regular yield surfaces, strain‐softening and non‐associated flow. There are two aspects that are of immediate concern within load steps which are truly finite: first, the iterative corrector must assure that the equilibrium stress state and the plastic process variables do satisfy multiple yield conditions with corners, Fi(σ, q) = 0, at discrete stages of the solution process. To this end, a reliable return mapping algorithm is required which minimizes the error of the plastic return step. Second, the solution of non‐linear equations of motion on the global structural level must account for limit points and premature bifurcation of the equilibrium path. The current paper is mainly concerned with the implicit integration of elasto‐plastic hardening/softening relations considering non‐associated flow and the presence of composite yield conditions with corners.

The purpose of this paper is to present an efficient return mapping algorithm for elastoplastic constitutive problems of ductile metals with an exact closed form solution of the local constitutive problem in the small strain regime. A Newton Raphson iterative method is adopted for the solution of the boundary value problem.

An efficient return mapping algorithm is illustrated which is based on an elastic predictor and a plastic corrector scheme resulting in an implicit and accurate numerical integration method. Nonlinear kinematic hardening rules and linear isotropic hardening rules are used to describe the components of the hardening variables. In the adopted algorithmic approach the solution of the local constitutive equations reduces to only one straightforward nonlinear scalar equation.

The presented algorithmic scheme naturally leads to a particularly simple form of the nonlinear scalar equation which ultimately scales down to an algebraic (polynomial) equation with a single variable. The straightforwardness of the present approach allows to find the analytical solution of the algebraic equation in a closed form. Further, the consistent tangent operator is derived as associated with the proposed algorithmic scheme and it is shown that the proposed computational procedure ensures a quadratic rate of asymptotic convergence when used with a Newton Raphson iterative method for the global solution procedure.

In the present approach the solution of the algebraic nonlinear equation is found in a closed form and accordingly no iterative method is required to solve the problem of the local constitutive equations. The computational procedure ensures a quadratic rate of asymptotic convergence for the global solution procedure typical of computationally efficient solution schemes. In the paper it is shown that the proposed algorithmic scheme provides an efficient and robust computational solution procedure for elastoplasticity boundary value problems. Numerical examples and computational results are reported which illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of the adopted integration algorithm for the finite element analysis of elastoplastic structures also under elaborate loading conditions.

An implicit integration algorithm for elastoplastic constitutive equations in plane stress analysis is presented. The error associated with this algorithm is of the same order as the one reached in three‐dimensional analysis with the radial return algorithm. No subincrementation is needed. Moreover, the exact elastoplastic stress—strain matrix related to this algorithm is derived.

Many practical problems in engineering require fast, accurate numerical results. In particular, in cyclic plasticity or fatigue simulations, the high number of loading cycles increases the computation effort and time. The purpose of this study is to show that the return mapping technique in the framework of unconventional plasticity theories is a good compromise between efficiency and accuracy in finite element analyses.

The accuracy of the closest point projection method and the cutting plane method implementations for the subloading surface model are discussed under different loading conditions by analyzing the error as a function of the input step size and the efficiency of the algorithms.

Monotonic tests show that the two different implicit integration schemes have the same accuracy and are in good agreement with the solution obtained using an explicit forward Euler scheme, even for large input steps. However, the closest point projection method seems to describe better the evolution of the similarity centre in the cyclic loading analyses.

The purpose of this work is to show two alternative implicit integration schemes of the extended subloading surface method for metallic materials. The backward Euler integrations can guarantee a good description of the material behaviour and, at the same time, reduce the computational cost. This aspect is particularly important in the field of low or high cycle fatigue, because of the large number of cycles involved.

A detailed description of both the cutting plane and closest point projection methods is offered in this work. In particular, the two integrations schemes are compared in terms of accuracy and computation time for monotonic and cyclic loading tests.

In Simo and Taylor, the classical radial return algorithm of Wilkins and Krieg and Key for plane strain and three‐dimensional J2‐flow theory, is extended to the case of plane stress. In three dimensions (or plane strain), enforcement of the discrete consistency condition reduces to a simple radial scaling of the trial stress onto the yield surface; i.e., the return map is radial. In plane stress, on the other hand, the return map, that restores the trial stress back to the yield surface, is constrained to remain in the plane stress subspace, and thus no longer reduces to a simple radial scaling. The determination of the final stress point from the trial stress now involves the solution by Newton's method of a non‐linear scalar equation, referred to as the discrete consistency equation in what follows, that yields the discrete consistency parameter λn+>0. The requirement that λn+>1 be positive is a direct consequence of the discrete Kuhn‐Tucker optimality conditions.