von Mises yield criterion

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[1]

The von Mises yield criterion suggests that the yielding of materials begins when the second
deviatoric stress invariant reaches a critical value. For this reason, it is sometimes called
the -plasticity or
flow theory. It is part of a plasticity theory that applies best
to ductile materials, such as metals. Prior to yield, material response is assumed to be elastic.
In materials science and engineering the von Mises yield criterion can be also formulated in
terms of the von Mises stress orequivalent tensile stress,
, a scalar stress value that can
be computed from the Cauchy stress tensor. In this case, a material is said to start yielding when
its von Mises stress reaches a critical value known as the yield strength,
. The von Mises
stress is used to predict yielding of materials under any loading condition from results of simple
uniaxial tensile tests. The von Mises stress satisfies the property that two stress states with equal
distortion energy have equal von Mises stress.
Because the von Mises yield criterion is independent of the first stress invariant, , it is
applicable for the analysis of plastic deformation for ductile materials such as metals, as the
onset of yield for these materials does not depend on the hydrostatic component of the stress
tensor.
Although formulated by Maxwell in 1865, it is generally attributed to Richard Edler von
Mises (1913).

[1][2]

Tytus Maksymilian Huber (1904), in a paper in Polish, anticipated to some

extent this criterion.

Mises theory.

[3] [4]

This criterion is also referred to as theMaxwellHuberHenckyvon

Contents
[hide]

1 Mathematical formulation
2 Reduced von Mises equation for different stress
conditions
3 Physical interpretation of the von Mises yield
criterion

4 Comparison with Tresca yield criterion

5 See also

6 References
Mathematical formulation[edit]

The von Mises yield surfaces in principal stress coordinates

circumscribes a cylinder with radius
around the
hydrostatic axis. Also shown is Tresca's hexagonal yield
surface.
Mathematically the von Mises yield criterion is expressed as:

where is the yield stress of the material in pure shear. As shown later in this article, at the
onset of yielding, the magnitude of the shear yield stress in pure shear is 3 times lower than
the tensile yield stress in the case of simple tension. Thus, we have:

where
is the yield strength of the material. If we set the von Mises stress equal to the
yield strength and combine the above equations, the von Mises yield criterion can be
expressed as:

or

Substituting

with terms of the Cauchy stress tensor components

This equation defines the yield surface as a circular cylinder (See Figure)
whose yield curve, or intersection with the deviatoric plane, is a circle with
radius
, or
. This implies that the yield condition is independent
of hydrostatic stresses.

Reduced von Mises equation for different stress

conditions[edit]

Intersection of the von Mises yield criterion

with the
plane, where
The above equation can be reduced and reorganized for practical use in
different loading scenarios.
In the case of uniaxial stress or simple
tension,
to
,

, the von Mises criterion simply reduces

which means the material starts to yield when

reaches the yield
strength of the material
, and is in agreement with the definition of
tensile (or compressive) yield strength.
It is also convenient to define an Equivalent tensile stress or von
Mises stress,
, which is used to predict yielding of materials
under multiaxial loading conditions using results from simple uniaxial
tensile tests. Thus, we define

where

are the components of the stress deviator tensor

.
In this case, yielding occurs when the equivalent stress,
,
reaches the yield strength of the material in simple tension,
.
As an example, the stress state of a steel beam in compression
differs from the stress state of a steel axle under torsion, even if
both specimens are of the same material. In view of the stress
tensor, which fully describes the stress state, this difference
manifests in six degrees of freedom, because the stress tensor
has six independent components. Therefore, it is difficult to tell
which of the two specimens is closer to the yield point or has
even reached it. However, by means of the von Mises yield
criterion, which depends solely on the value of the scalar von
Mises stress, i.e., one degree of freedom, this comparison is
straightforward: A larger von Mises value implies that the
material is closer to the yield point.
In the case of pure shear stress,
other

, while all

, von Mises criterion becomes:

.
This means that, at the onset of yielding, the magnitude of
the shear stress in pure shear is
times lower than the
tensile stress in the case of simple tension. The von Mises
yield criterion for pure shear stress, expressed in principal
stresses, is

In the case of plane stress,

criterion becomes:

, the von Mises

This equation represents an ellipse in the

plane
, as shown in the Figure above.
The following table summarizes von Mises yield
criterion for the different stress conditions.

Lo
ad
Restr
sc
iction
en
s
ari
o
Ge No
ne restric
ral tions
Pri
nci
pal
str
ess
es
Ge
ne
ral
pla
ne
str
ess

Simplified von
Mises equation

Pri
nci
pal
pla
ne
str
ess
Pu
re
sh
ear
Un
iax
ial
Notes:

Subscripts 1,2,3 can be replaced with x,y,z, or

other orthogonal coordinate system
Shear stress is denoted here as
; in
practice it is also denoted as

Physical interpretation of the von

Mises yield criterion[edit]
Hencky (1924) offered a physical interpretation of
von Mises criterion suggesting that yielding begins
when the elastic energy of distortion reaches a
[4]

critical value. For this, the von Mises criterion is

also known as the maximum distortion strain
energy criterion. This comes from the relation
between
and the elastic strain energy of
distortion
:

with the elastic shear modulus

.
[5]

In 1937 Arpad L. Nadai suggested that

yielding begins when the octahedral shear
stress reaches a critical value, i.e. the
octahedral shear stress of the material at yield
in simple tension. In this case, the von Mises

yield criterion is also known as the maximum

octahedral shear stress criterion in view of
the direct proportionality that exists between
and the octahedral shear stress,
, which by
definition is

thus we have

Comparison with Tresca

yield criterion[edit]
Also shown in the figure is Tresca's
maximum shear stress criterion
(dashed line). Observe that Tresca's
yield surface is circumscribed by von
Mises's. Therefore, it predicts plastic
yielding already for stress states that
are still elastic according to the von
Mises criterion. As a model for plastic
material behavior, Tresca's criterion is
therefore more conservative.

Use of Von Mises stress

Von Mises stress is considered to be a safe haven for
design engineers.Using this information an engineer
can say his design will fail, if the maximum value of
Von Mises stress induced in the material is more
than strength of the material. It works well for most
cases, especially when the material is ductile in
nature. In the folowing sections we will have a
logical understanding of Von Mises stress and why it
is used.

When does a material fail?

One of the most easy way to check when a material

fails is a simple tension test. Here the material is
pulled from both ends. When the material reaches
the yield point (for ductile material) the material
can be considered as failed. The simple tension test
is a unidirectional test, this is shown in the first part
of Fig.1.

Fig.1 A simple tension test and a real life loading condition

Now consider the situation in second part of Fig.1,

an actual engineering problem with a complex
loading condition. Can we say here also, that the
material fails when the maximum normal stress
value induced in the material is more than the yield
point value ?. If you use such an assumption, you
would be using a failure theory called 'normal stress
theory'. Many years of engineering experience has
shown that normal stress theory doesnt work in
most of the cases. The most preferred failure theory
used in industry is Von Mises stress based. We will
explore what Von Mises stress is in the coming
section.

Distortion energy theory

The concept of Von mises stress arises from
the distortion energy failure theory. Distortion
energy failure theory is comparison between 2 kinds

of energies, 1) Distortion energy in the actual case

2) Distortion energy in a simple tension case at the
time of failure. According to this theory, failure
occurs when the distortion energy in actual case is
more than the distortion energy in a simple tension
case at the time of failure.

Distortion energy
It is the energy required for shape deformation of a
material. During pure distortion, the shape of the
material changes, but volume does not change. This
is illustrated in Fig.1.

Fig.2 Representation of a pure distortion case

Distortion energy required per unit volume, ud for a

general 3 dimensional case is given in terms
of principal stress valuesas:
Distortion energy for simple tension case at the
time of failure is given as:

Expression for Von Mises stress

The above 2 quantities can be connected

using distortion energy failure theory, so the
condition of failure will be as follows.

The left hand side of the above equation is denoted

as Von Mises stress.

So as a failure criterion, the engineer can check

whether Von Mises stress induced in the material
exceeds yield strength (for ductile material) of the
material.So the failure condition can be simplified
as

Industrial Application of Von Mises Stress

Distortion energy theory is the most preferred
failure theory used in industry. It is clear from above
discussions that whenever an engineer resorts to
distortion energy theory he can use Von Mises stress
as a failure criterion.Let's see one example:
Suppose an engineer has to design a cantilever
beam using mild steel as the material, with a load
capacity of 10000 N. The materials properties of
mild steel are also shown in the figure. The yield

stress value of mild steel is 2.5x108 Pa. He wants to

check whether his design will withstand the design
load.

Fig.3 A design problem, the cantilever should be able to withstand design load

The following figure shows the Von Mises stress

distribution obtained by FEA analysis of the beam.

Fig.4 Distribution of Von Mises stress in the beam obtained from FEA analysis

One can note that Von Mises stress is at maximum

towards the fixed end of the beam, and the value is
1.32x10 Pa. This is less than the yield point value of
mild steel. So the design is safe. In short an
engineer's duty is to keep the maximum value of Von
8

Mises stress induced in the material less than its

strength.