A constitutive model for anisotropic kinematic hardening materials

Based on previous work by the authors, a model for anisotropic, kinematic hardening materials is constructed to describe constitutive equations and evolution laws in rate-independent, small deformation plasticity on the basis of thermodynamics. Unlike other theories developed earlier wherein only internal state variables are chosen to describe inelastic deformation, the present paper also considers inelastic strain as an independent variable. This can be shown to reduce to the well-known plastic strain in the case of rate-independent plasticity.