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Encyclopedia of Continuum Mechanics pp 1–13Cite as

Strain Gradient Plasticity

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Synonyms

Plasticity theory at small scales

; Size-dependent plasticity theory

Definitions

Strain gradient plasticity (SGP) is a theory of continuum solid mechanics which aims at modeling the irreversible mechanical behavior of materials, with specific focus on metals and on their response at appropriately small size, typically on the order of micrometers or less. For such small metallic components, a variation in size leads to a peculiar effect, denoted as “smaller being stronger.”

Background

The term plasticity refers to the irreversible mechanical behavior of materials, with particular reference to metals. This behavior occurs when the stress state is large enough for the material to yield, thus leading to a permanent deformation, denoted as plastic deformation. Such deformation can be observed, and the inherent plastic strain measured, after removing a suitable, monotonically applied load which enables yielding. In simple tests, such as uniaxial tension, the yield stressis...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy

    Lorenzo Bardella

Authors
  1. Lorenzo Bardella
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lorenzo Bardella .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Mechanik, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Institut für Mechanik, Magdeburg, Germany

    Holm Altenbach

  2. Griffith University (Gold Coast Campus), Griffith School of Engineering Griffith University (Gold Coast Campus), Southport, Queensland, Australia

    Andreas Öchsner

Section Editor information

  1. Centre des Matériaux UMR 7633, Mines ParisTech CNRS, 10 rue Henri Desbruères, 91003, Evry Cedex, France

    Samuel Forest

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Bardella, L. (2018). Strain Gradient Plasticity. In: Altenbach, H., Öchsner, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Continuum Mechanics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-53605-6_110-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-53605-6_110-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-53605-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-53605-6

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