On the axioms of plasticity

the present paper, some propositions usually considered as independent axioms in plasticity theory, including Il’yushin’s postulate, are obtained as consequences of a general axiomatic structure of continuum damage mechanics. This fact indicates that continuum damage mechanics and plasticity theory have common conceptual foundations, notwithstanding that their phenomenological manifestations are different for many aspects. The formal framework used is able to consider different plasticity constitutive models and some of the non-classical situations discussed recently in technical literature on the basic concepts of plasticity theory, as the loss of convexity of the yield surface and the violation of Il’yushin’s postulate in non-associative plasticity. A comparative analysis with other proposals on foundations of plasticity in technical literature is developed. (0 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd