Extraction of Constitutive Data from Specimens Undergoing Strain Localization

Abstract

In specimens undergoing strain localization, applied forces and the corresponding measured displacements cannot be directly constraed as stress‐strain data, owing to the inhomogeneous character of the deformation. This complicates the interpretation of experimental data in materials which are prone to exhibiting localization prior to failure. However, we show that the true stress and strain paths inside a band in a localized specimen can be estimated simply from the measured data. Criteria are provided to determine when the proposed method may be expected to produce accurate results. Experimental records from concrete specimens are examined in the light of the method.