A work-hardening rule for finite elastic-plastic deformation of metals at elevated temperatures

The paper is concerned with an extension of Prager-Ziegler's kinematic work-hardening rule for infinitesimal elastic-plastic deformation to a work-hardening rule for finite elastic-plastic deformation of a polycrystalline metal. It is shown that the finite work-hardening rule, which accounts for the Bauschinger and temperature effects within certain pressure and temperature ranges, satisfies certain invariant, continuity and thermodynamic requirements. A description of the kinematics of an elastic-plastic body is employed with reference to three separate configurations: initial, current and an intermediate configuration. The intermediate configuration is a conceptual, local configuration obtained by removing the stress and temperature changes in the neighborhood of an element. A rigid body rotation of the intermediate configuration is allowed. Piola-Kirchhoff stresses and Green deformation tensors referred to the initial and intermediate configurations are employed as stress and strain measures. The plastic deformation has been associated with the motion and production of dislocations. It has been observed that the motion of mobile dislocations usually occur in the narrow slip bands in each grain, leaving the basic lattice structure practically intact, so that the macroscopic elastic properties of the material are essentially independent of plastic deformation. Employing this fact and the thermodynamic laws, a simplified elastic stress-strain relationship of the plastically deformed material, which agrees with the results of Naghdi and Trapp, is obtained