Rate Dependent Constitutive Equations of Cyclic Softening

Constitutive equations of cyclic strain and stress softening for materials with low internal stress levels are derived from the rate theory. The study shows that over the high stress and low temperature range where the description of plastic flow in cyclic softening can be approximated with activation over a single energy barrier, cyclic strain softening is well related to stress relaxation process while cyclic stress softening is related to creep process. The material structural characteristics for cyclic strain softening, cyclic stress softening and stress relaxation are identical. Subsequently, it is shown that cyclic stress and strain softening within the high stress and low temperature range can be evaluated from the constitutive equations using the material structural characteristics measured from a simple stress relaxation test.