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Plastic Behavior

Plastic Behavior

A material's elastic behavior is characterized by the disappearance of stress once the load is removed, allowing the material to return to its original state. However, when stress surpasses the yield point, yielding commences, marking the onset of plastic deformation or permanent set. This change from elastic to plastic behavior is influenced by the peak stress value and the duration before the load is removed. An intriguing observation occurs when a specimen is loaded, unloaded, and reloaded.

Plasticity

Plasticity

Plasticity is the property where an object loses its elasticity and undergoes irreversible deformation, even after the deformation forces are eliminated. If a material deforms irreversibly without increasing stress or load, then this is called ideal plasticity. For example, when a force is applied to an aluminum rod, it changes its shape, but it does not return to its original shape once the force is removed. Plastic deformation or ductility is thus a permanent deformation or change in the...

Stress-Strain Diagram - Ductile Materials

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The stress-strain relationship in ductile materials such as structural steel or aluminium is intricate and progresses through several stages. When a specimen is loaded, it initially exhibits a linear length increase, depicted by a steep straight line on the stress-strain diagram. It indicates the material is elastically deforming and will return to its original shape once unloaded. However, when a critical stress value is reached, plastic deformation begins. This stage sees substantial...

Plastic Deformations

Plastic Deformations

It is essential to understand how structural members behave under plastic deformation when the bending stress exceeds the material's yield strength. This state of deformation permanently alters the shape of the member, in contrast to the linear elastic behavior observed before yielding. The strain at any point in the member is expressed in terms of maximum strain. Notably, the neutral axis, which coincides with the centroid during elastic bending, shifts away from the centroid under plastic...

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Plastic deformation represents a fundamental concept in materials science, which explains the irreversible change in the shape of a material when it experiences stress beyond its elastic capability. This phenomenon is important in structural engineering, especially in designing and analyzing cantilever beams—structures that are securely fixed at one end and bear loads at the opposite end. When these beams are subjected to loads within their elastic range, they will return to their original...

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In designing structural elements and machine parts using ductile materials, it is crucial to ensure that these components withstand applied stresses without yielding. Yielding is initially determined through a tensile test, which evaluates the material's response to uniaxial stress. However, tensile stress is insufficient when components face biaxial or plane stress conditions This condition requires advanced criteria to predict failure.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Determining the Mechanical Strength of Ultra-Fine-Grained Metals

Determining the Mechanical Strength of Ultra-Fine-Grained Metals

Published on: November 22, 2021

Submicron plasticity: yield stress, dislocation avalanches, and velocity distribution.

Péter Dusán Ispánovity¹, István Groma, Géza Györgyi

¹Department of Materials Physics, Eötvös University Budapest, H-1517 Budapest POB 32, Hungary. ispanovity@metal.elte.hu

Physical Review Letters

|September 28, 2010

Summary

Plastic deformation in microcrystals occurs in bursts. Despite this, simulations show a consistent critical stress for submicron objects, revealing universal dislocation velocity decay and avalanche effects.

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Solid Mechanics
Computational Materials Science

Background:

Macroscopic crystals exhibit a clear yield stress, marking the onset of plastic flow.
Microcrystals display strain accumulation in discrete, unpredictable bursts, complicating controlled plastic deformation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the plastic deformation of submicron objects under increasing stress using computational simulations.
To determine if a well-defined critical stress exists for microcrystals, despite their burst-like strain accumulation.

Main Methods:

Utilized 2D and 3D simulations to model the plastic deformation of submicron objects.
Analyzed the stress-strain relationship and dislocation velocity distributions.

Main Results:

Individual microcrystal samples showed stress-strain relations with distinct jumps.
The average and mean deviation of stress-strain relations consistently defined a critical stress.
Dislocation velocity distribution exhibited a universal cubic decay with a shoulder attributed to dislocation avalanches.

Conclusions:

A well-defined critical stress for plastic flow can be identified in submicron objects, even with intermittent strain bursts.
Dislocation avalanches play a significant role in the statistical mechanics of plastic deformation in microcrystals.
The observed universal cubic decay in dislocation velocity provides fundamental insights into microplasticity.