A simple model of generalized plasticity

Abstract The generalized plasticity model, which has previously been discussed by the author primarily in a theoretical way, is made specific in the form of a simple version based on a single function of the state variables. After a review of the basic concepts of generalized plasticity, the appropriate simplifications are introduced, leading to a one-dimensional model that can be used to generate, in closed form, stress-strain diagrams under arbitrary stress-controlled loading, including cyclic loading. This model is then extended into a multiaxial form that is used to solve the problem of the plastic expansion (with elastic deformations neglected) of a pressurized thick-walled tube.