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von Mises yield criterion

The maximum distortion criterion (also von Mises yield criterion[1]) states that yielding of a ductile material begins when the second
invariant of deviatoric stress reaches a critical value.[2] It is a part of plasticity theory that mostly applies to ductile materials, such as some
metals. Prior to yield, material response can be assumed to be of a nonlinear elastic, viscoelastic, or linear elastic behavior.

In materials science and engineering von Mises yield criterion is also formulated in terms of the von Mises stress or equivalent tensile stress, .
This is a scalar value of stress that can be computed from the Cauchy stress tensor. In this case, a material is said to start yielding when the von
Mises stress reaches a value known as yield strength, . The von Mises stress is used to predict yielding of materials under complex loading from
the results of uniaxial tensile tests. The von Mises stress satisfies the property where two stress states with equal distortion energy have an equal
von Mises stress.

Because the von Mises yield criterion is independent of the first stress invariant, , it is applicable for the analysis of plastic deformation for
ductile materials such as metals, as onset of yield for these materials does not depend on the hydrostatic component of the stress tensor.

Although it has been believed it was formulated by James Clerk Maxwell in 1865, Maxwell only described the general conditions in a letter to
William Thomson (Lord Kelvin).[3] Richard Edler von Mises rigorously formulated it in 1913.[2][4] Tytus Maksymilian Huber (1904), in a paper
written in Polish, anticipated to some extent this criterion by properly relying on the distortion strain energy, not on the total strain energy as his
predecessors.[5][6][7] Heinrich Hencky formulated the same criterion as von Mises independently in 1924.[8] For the above reasons this criterion
is also referred to as the "Maxwell–Huber–Hencky–von Mises theory".

Contents
Mathematical formulation
Reduced von Mises equation for different stress conditions
Uniaxial (1D) stress
Multi-axial (2D or 3D) stress
Summary
Physical interpretation of the von Mises yield criterion
Practical engineering usage of the von Mises yield criterion
See also
References

Mathematical formulation
Mathematically the von Mises yield criterion is expressed as:

Here is yield stress of the material in pure shear. As shown later in this article, at
the onset of yielding, the magnitude of the shear yield stress in pure shear is √3
times lower than the tensile yield stress in the case of simple tension. Thus, we have:

where is tensile yield strength of the material. If we set the von Mises stress equal
to the yield strength and combine the above equations, the von Mises yield criterion
is written as:

or The von Mises yield surfaces in principal stress coordinates

circumscribes a cylinder with radius around the hydrostatic
axis. Also shown is Tresca's hexagonal yield surface.
Substituting with the Cauchy stress tensor components, we get

where is called deviatoric stress. This equation defines the yield surface as a circular cylinder (See Figure) whose yield curve, or intersection
with the deviatoric plane, is a circle with radius , or . This implies that the yield condition is independent of hydrostatic stresses.

Reduced von Mises equation for different stress conditions

Uniaxial (1D) stress

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In the case of uniaxial stress or simple tension, , the von Mises criterion simply
reduces to

which means the material starts to yield when reaches the yield strength of the material , in
agreement with the definition of tensile (or compressive) yield strength.

Multi-axial (2D or 3D) stress

An equivalent tensile stress or equivalent von-Mises stress, is used to predict yielding of materials
under multiaxial loading conditions using results from simple uniaxial tensile tests. Thus, we define

Von Mises yield criterion in 2D (planar) loading

conditions: if stress in the third dimension is
zero ( ), no yielding is predicted to occur
for stress coordinates within the red
area. Because Tresca's criterion for yielding is
within the red area, Von Mises' criterion is
more lax.

where are components of stress deviator tensor :

In this case, yielding occurs when the equivalent stress, , reaches the yield strength of the material in simple tension, . As an example, the
stress state of a steel beam in compression differs from the stress state of a steel axle under torsion, even if both specimens are of the same
material. In view of the stress tensor, which fully describes the stress state, this difference manifests in six degrees of freedom, because the stress
tensor has six independent components. Therefore, it is difficult to tell which of the two specimens is closer to the yield point or has even reached
it. However, by means of the von Mises yield criterion, which depends solely on the value of the scalar von Mises stress, i.e., one degree of
freedom, this comparison is straightforward: A larger von Mises value implies that the material is closer to the yield point.

In the case of pure shear stress, , while all other , von Mises criterion becomes:

This means that, at the onset of yielding, the magnitude of the shear stress in pure shear is times lower than the yield stress in the case of
simple tension. The von Mises yield criterion for pure shear stress, expressed in principal stresses, is

In the case of principal plane stress, and , the von Mises criterion becomes:

This equation represents an ellipse in the plane .

Summary

State of stress Boundary conditions von Mises equations

General No restrictions

Principal stresses

General plane stress

Principal plane stress

Pure shear

Uniaxial

Physical interpretation of the von Mises yield criterion

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Hencky (1924) offered a physical interpretation of von Mises criterion suggesting that yielding begins when the elastic energy of distortion
reaches a critical value.[6] For this reason, the von Mises criterion is also known as the maximum distortion strain energy criterion. This comes
from the relation between and the elastic strain energy of distortion :

with the elastic shear modulus .

In 1937 [9] Arpad L. Nadai suggested that yielding begins when the octahedral shear stress reaches a critical value, i.e. the octahedral shear stress
of the material at yield in simple tension. In this case, the von Mises yield criterion is also known as the maximum octahedral shear stress
criterion in view of the direct proportionality that exists between and the octahedral shear stress, , which by definition is

thus we have

Strain energy density consists of two components - volumetric or dialational and distortional. Volumetric component is responsible for
change in volume without any change in shape. Distortional component is responsible for shear deformation or change in shape.

Practical engineering usage of the von Mises yield criterion

As shown in the equations above (which equations?), the use of the von Mises criterion as a yield criterion is only exactly applicable when the
following material properties are homogeneous and have a ratio of:

Since no material will have this ratio precisely, in practice it is necessary to use engineering judgement to decide what failure theory is
appropriate for a given material. Alternately, for use of the Tresca theory, the same ratio is defined as 1/2.

The yield margin of safety is written as

Although the given criterion is based on a yield phenomenon, extensive testing has shown that use of a "von Mises" stress is applicable at
ultimate loading [10]

See also
Yield surface Mohr–Coulomb theory Strain
Huber's equation Hoek–Brown failure criterion 3-D elasticity
Henri Tresca Yield (engineering)
Stephen Timoshenko Stress

References
1. "Von Mises Criterion (Maximum Distortion Energy Criterion)" (https://www.engineersedge.com/material_science/von_mises.htm). Engineer's
edge. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
2. von Mises, R. (1913). "Mechanik der festen Körper im plastisch-deformablen Zustand" (http://www.digizeitschriften.de/dms/resolveppn/?PID=
GDZPPN002503697). Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen. Mathematisch-Physikalische Klasse. 1913 (1):
582–592.
3. "Deformation Theory of Plasticity, p. 151, Section 4.5.6" (https://books.google.com/books?id=kiCVc3AJhVwC&pg=PA152). Retrieved
2017-06-11.
4. Ford (1963). Advanced Mechanics of Materials. London: Longmans.
5. Huber, M. T. (1904). "Właściwa praca odkształcenia jako miara wytezenia materiału". Czasopismo Techniczne. Lwów. 22. Translated as
"Specific Work of Strain as a Measure of Material Effort" (http://am.ippt.pan.pl/am/article/viewFile/v56p173/pdf). Archives of Mechanics. 56:
173–190. 2004.
6. Hill, R. (1950). The Mathematical Theory of Plasticity. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
7. Timoshenko, S. (1953). History of strength of materials. New York: McGraw-Hill.
8. Hencky, H. (1924). "Zur Theorie plastischer Deformationen und der hierdurch im Material hervorgerufenen Nachspannngen". Z. Angew.
Math. Mech. 4: 323–334. doi:10.1002/zamm.19240040405 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fzamm.19240040405).
9. S. M. A. Kazimi. (1982). Solid Mechanics. Tata McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-451715-5
10. Stephen P. Timoshenko, Strength of Materials, Part I, 2nd ed., 1940

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