a rational study on limit states in hypoelastic materials

Despite the definition of failure being almost thoroughly studied in other theories such as elasto-plasticity, this paper studies the possibility of capturing or defining some limit states in hypoelastic materials. it is shown that for many hypoelastic materials the limit state, as a notion of failure, can take the place of the yield or failure in classical plasticity. the procedure is general, and all equations are rational, i.e. they are not dependent on a particular form of a constitutive equation. constitutive equations cover those applied to both metallic and non-metallic materials. some practical results were obtained for a particular form of a hypoelastic equation which resembles the drucker-prager criterion for the form of the limit state. results were also examined against a set of experimental data.