The limit equilibrium of an anisotropic medium under the general plasticity condition

A theory of the limit equilibrium of an anisotropic medium under the general plasticity condition in the plane strain state is developed. The proposed yield criterion (the limit equilibrium condition) is obtained by combining the von Mises-Hill yield criterion of an ideally plastic anisotropic material and Prandtl's limit equilibrium condition for a medium under the general plasticity law. It is shown that the problem is statically determinate, i.e., if the boundary conditions are specified in stresses, the stress state in plastic region can only be obtained using equilibrium equations. It is established that the equations describing the stress state are hyperbolic and have two families of characteristic curves that intersect at variable angles. In deriving the equations describing the velocity field, the material is assumed to be rigid plastic, and the associated law of flow is applied. It is shown that the equations for the velocities are also hyperbolic, and their characteristic curves are identical with those of the equations for stresses. However, the directions of the principal values of the stress and strain rate tensors are different due to the anisotropy of the material. The characteristic directions differ from the isotropic case in that the normal and tangential components of the stress tensor do not satisfy the limit conditions. It is established that the equations obtained allow of partial solutions, and in this case, at least one family of characteristic curves consists of straight lines. The conditions along the lines of discontinuity of the velocity are investigated, and it is shown that, as in the isotropic case, these are characteristic curves of the system of governing equations. In the anisotropic formulation, the well-known Rankine problem of the limit state of a ponderable layer is solved. From an analysis of the velocity field it is shown that plastic flow of the entire layer is possible only for a slope angle equal to the angle of internal friction. For slope angles less than the angle of internal friction, the solutions obtained are solutions of problems of the pressure of the medium on the retaining walls. The change in this pressure as a function of the parameters of anisotropy is investigated, and turns out to be significant.