Substepping schemes for the numerical integration of elastoplastic stress–strain relations

Abstract This paper describes two substepping schemes for integrating elastoplastic stress–strain relations. The schemes are designed for use in finite element plasticity calculations and solve for the stress increments assuming that the strain increments are known. Both methods are applicable to a general type of constitutive law and control the error in the integration process by adjusting the size of each substep automatically. The first method is based on the well‐known modified Euler scheme, whereas the second technique employs a high order Runge–Kutta formula. The procedures outlined do not require any form of stress correction to prevent drift from the yield surface. Their utility is illustrated by analysis of typical boundary value problems.