FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF ELASTIC-PLASTIC THICK-WALLED TUBES.

The incremental tangent-modulus approach of the finite element formulation together with the computer programming has been developed for the generalized plane-strain problem of thick-walled tubes subjected to internal pressure, external pressure and end force. The material model is elastic-plastic strain-hardening, obeying the Mises yield criterion and the Prandtl-Reuss flow theory. Numerical results for the stresses and strains in the case of internal pressure only have been obtained for a linear hardening tube under all three end conditions. Comparisons with other solutions in the elastic-perfectly-plastic case have been given. The present approach is quite general and will also yield accurate results.