ENDOCHRONIC PREDICTION FOR THE MECHANICAL RATCHETTING OF A STEPPED BEAM SUBJECTED TO STEADY TENSION AND CYCLIC BENDING

In this paper, the first-order ordinary differential constitutive equa tions of endochronic theory are incorporated into finite element forma lism. A theoretical investigation is performed on the ratchetting effe ct of a stepped beam subjected to steady tension and cyclic bending. E xperimental data of lead alloy found in literature are used for compar ison. Those data reveal that the endochronic prediction yields more ad equate results than those predictions using the plasticity models with isotropic hardening or kinematic hardening, as employed by Hardy, et al. (1985).