Closed form elastic‐plastic stiffness matrix for axisymmetric finite elements

This note presents the closed form equations for the stiffness terms in the elastic-plastic stiffness matrix for axisymmetric finite elements. The element considered is a triangular ring element characterized by linear displacement relationships and an averaged state of stress. The physical law is modelled by the incremental theory of plasticity utilizing the Prandtl-Reuss flow rule and von-Mises Yield Criterion. Results are presented comparing stiffness terms as computed by numerical integration to those computed from the closed form equations. Significant errors in stiffness terms arising from numerical integration are observed for axisymmetric elements located near the line of axial symmetry as a result of the logarithmic nature of some of the stiffness terms.