Error estimates in elastoplasticity using a mixed method

In this paper, a mixed formulation and its discretization are introduced for elastoplasticity with linear kinematic hardening. The mixed formulation relies on the introduction of a Lagrange multiplier to resolve the non-differentiability of the plastic work function. The main focus is on the derivation of a priori and a posteriori error estimates based on general discretization spaces. The estimates are applied to several low-order finite elements. In particular, a posteriori estimates are expressed in terms of standard residual estimates. Numerical experiments are presented, confirming the applicability of the a posteriori estimates within an adaptive procedure.