A Rational Study on Limit States in Hypoelastic Materials

Despite the definition of failure being almost thoroughly studied in other theories such as elasto-plasticity, this paper studies the possibility of capturing or defining some limit states in hypoelastic materials. It is shown that for many hypoelastic materials the limit state, as a notion of failure, can take the place of the yield or failure in classical plasticity. The procedure is general, and all equations are rational, i.e. they are not dependent on a particular form of a constitutive equation. Constitutive equations cover those applied to both metallic and non-metallic materials. Some practical results were obtained for a particular form of a hypoelastic equation which resembles the Drucker-Prager criterion for the form of the limit state. Results were also examined against a set of experimental data.