Accurate modeling of the cyclic response of structural components constructed of steel with yield plateau

A time-independent constitutive model for structural steels with a yield plateau is presented. The model is based on the basic principles of time-independent plasticity. The model couples the nonlinear kinematic hardening concept with a memory surface in the plastic strain space, and a pseudo memory surface in the deviatoric stress space. A brief description of the constitutive model, which is capable of capturing the response of the material for monotonic, proportional and non-proportional cyclic loading paths are given. The performance of the proposed constitutive model is verified at the structural component level, by means of finite element simulations of large-scale structural columns or bridge pier elements under constant axial load and uni-directional quasi-static cyclic loading. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved