This book gives an introduction to computational plasticity and includes the kinematics of large deformations, together with relevant continuum mechanics. Central to the book is its focus on computational plasticity, and we cover an introduction to the finite element method which includes both quasi-static and dynamic problems. We then go on to describe explicit and implicit implementations of plasticity models in to finite element software. Throughout the book, we describe thegeneral, multiaxial form of the theory but uniquely, wherever possible, reduce the equations to their simplest, uniaxial form to develop understanding of the general theory and, we hope, physical insight. We provide several examples of implicit and explicit implementations of von Mises time-independentand visco-plasticity in to the commercial code ABAQUS (including the fortran coding), which should prove invaluable to research students and practising engineers developing ABAQUS 'UMATs'. The book bridges the gap between undergraduate material on plasticity and existing advanced texts on nonlinear computational mechanics, which makes it ideal for students and practising engineers alike. It introduces a range of engineering applications, including superplasticity, porous plasticity, cyclicplasticity and thermo-mechanical fatigue, to emphasize the subject's relevance and importance.

The 4th International Conference on Low Cycle Fatigue and Elasto-Plastic Behaviour of Materials was held from 7-11 September 1998 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. In response to a call for papers, nearly 200 extended abstracts from 32 countries were submitted to the organizing committee. These papers were presented at the conference as invited lectures or short contributions and as oral or poster presentation. All the papers were presented in poster form in extended poster sessions–a peculiarity of the LCF Conferences which allows an intense, thorough discussion of all contributions. Each chapter provides a comprehensive overview of a materials class or a given subject. Many contributions could have been included in two or even three chapters and so, in order to give a better overview of the content, the reader will find a subject index, a material index and an author index in the back of the book.

In 1979 the first InternationalSymposium on Low CycleFatigue and Elasto-Plastic Behaviour of Materials was held in Stuttgart, FRG. Since then research in low cycle fatigue has proceeded rapidly. The vital interest of engineers and researchers in communicating the rapid advances in the ongoing research in low cycle fatigue has encouraged me to initiate again the Second International Conference which was held in Munich, FRG, 7-11 September 1987. Failure in low cycle fatigue represents a serious problem in the design and opera tion of highly stressed structures. Under complex loading and environmental cir cumstances, especially for high temperature services, reliable life prediction can not be expected without detailed consideration of the failure mechanism and with out extensive use of mechanistic approaches. The purpose of this conference was to provide a forum to discuss the advances in recent research in the field of low cycle fatigue. The conference was intended to help to further bridge the gap between those who are involved in basic research, and the engineers who have to perform the design of highly stressed structural components.

This book provides practicing engineers, researchers, and students with a working knowledge of the fatigue design process and models under multiaxial states of stress and strain. Readers are introduced to the important considerations of multiaxial fatigue that differentiate it from uniaxial fatigue.