Necking and softening as a consequence of latent continuum damage

Necking and softening in ductile polycrystalline metals are modeled as consequences of continuum damage (CD) that consists in braking through of barriers resisting plastic deformation. Our model describes these materials as two-phase continua consisting of microdomains with easy glide and barriers with decreasing continuity in the course of deformation. Macroscopic homogeneity and increase of macroscopic stress with increasing deformation are conditioned by sufficient continuity of these barriers. Our model describes the whole course of engineering stress–strain diagrams up to rupture and the differences in the diagrams for test specimens of different length. The model is compared to experimental data measured on two materials − sorbitic steel and an AlMg3 alloy.