Effect of large elastic strains on cavitation instability predictions for elastic–plastic solids

For an in_nite solid containing a void\ the cavitation instability limit is de_ned as the remote stress and strain state\ at which the void grows without bound\ driven by the elastic energy stored in the surrounding material[ Such cavitation limits have been analysed by a number of authors for metal plasticity as well as for nonlinear elastic solids[ The analyses for elastic plastic solids are here extended to consider the e}ect of a large initial yield strain\ and it is shown how the critical stress value decays for increasing value of the yield strain[ Analyses are carried out for remote hydrostatic tension as well as for more general axisymmetric remote stress _eld\ with an initially spherical void[ Di}erent levels of strain hardening are considered