von Mises yield criterion

The von Mises yield criterion [1] suggests that the yielding Von Mises
Yield Surface
of materials begins when the second deviatoric stress in-
Hydrostatic
variant J2 reaches a critical value. It is part of a plasticity Axis
Tresca
theory that applies best to ductile materials, such as met- Yield Curve

als. Prior to yield, material response is assumed to be

Von Mises
elastic. Yield Curve Tresca
Yield Surface

In materials science and engineering the von Mises yield

criterion can be also formulated in terms of the von
Mises stress or equivalent tensile stress, v , a scalar
stress value that can be computed from the Cauchy stress
tensor. In this case, a material is said to start yielding plane
(Deviatoric Plane)
when its von Mises stress reaches a critical value known
as the yield strength, y . The von Mises stress is used
to predict yielding of materials under any loading condi-
tion from results of simple uniaxial tensile tests. The von
Mises stress satises the property that two stress states The von Mises yield surfaces in principal
stress coordinates cir-
2
with equal distortion energy have equal von Mises stress. cumscribes a cylinder with radius 3 y around the hydrostatic
axis. Also shown is Tresca's hexagonal yield surface.
Because the von Mises yield criterion is independent of
the rst stress invariant, I1 , it is applicable for the anal-
ysis of plastic deformation for ductile materials such as the above equations, the von Mises yield criterion can be
metals, as the onset of yield for these materials does not expressed as:
depend on the hydrostatic component of the stress tensor.
Although formulated by Maxwell in 1865 , it is generally
attributed to Richard Edler von Mises (1913).[1][2] Tytus v = y = 3J2
Maksymilian Huber (1904), in a paper in Polish, antic-
ipated to some extent this criterion.[3][4] This criterion or
is also referred to as the MaxwellHuberHenckyvon
Mises theory.
v2 = 3J2 = 3k 2

1 Mathematical formulation Substituting J2 with terms of the Cauchy stress tensor

components
Mathematically the von Mises yield criterion is expressed
as:
v2 = 12 [(11 22 )2 +(22 33 )2 +(33 11 )2 +6(23
2 2
+31 2
+12 )]

This equation denes the yield surface as a circular cylin-

J2 = k 2 der (See Figure) whose yield curve, or intersection
with
where k is the yield stress of the material in pure shear. the deviatoric plane, is a circle with radius 2k , or
2
As shown later in this article, at the onset of yielding, 3 y . This implies that the yield condition is inde-
the magnitude of the shear yield stress in pure shear is pendent of hydrostatic stresses.
(3)times lower than the tensile yield stress in the case of
simple tension. Thus, we have:
2 Reduced von Mises equation for
y
k= dierent stress conditions
3
where y is the yield strength of the material. If we set the The above equation can be reduced and reorganized for
von Mises stress equal to the yield strength and combine practical use in dierent loading scenarios.

1
2 3 PHYSICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE VON MISES YIELD CRITERION

steel axle under torsion, even if both specimens are of the

same material. In view of the stress tensor, which fully
describes the stress state, this dierence manifests in six
degrees of freedom, because the stress tensor has six in-
dependent components. Therefore, it is dicult to tell
which of the two specimens is closer to the yield point or
has even reached it. However, by means of the von Mises
yield criterion, which depends solely on the value of the
scalar von Mises stress, i.e., one degree of freedom, this
comparison is straightforward: A larger von Mises value
implies that the material is closer to the yield point.
In the case of pure shear stress, 12 = 21 = 0 , while
all other ij = 0 , von Mises criterion becomes:

y
12 = k =
3
Intersection of the von Mises yield criterion with the 1 , 2 plane,
where 3 = 0
This means that, at the onset of yielding,
the magnitude
of the shear stress in pure shear is 3 times lower than
the tensile stress in the case of simple tension. The von

In the case of uniaxial stress or simple tension, 1 = Mises yield criterion for pure shear stress, expressed in
0, 3 = 2 = 0 , the von Mises criterion simply reduces principal stresses, is
to

(1 2 )2 + (2 3 )2 + (1 3 )2 = 2y2
1 = y
In the case of plane stress, 3 = 0 , the von Mises cri-
which means the material starts to yield when 1 reaches terion becomes:
the yield strength of the material y , and is in agree-
ment with the denition of tensile (or compressive) yield
strength.
12 1 2 + 22 = 3k 2 = y2
It is also convenient to dene an Equivalent tensile
stress or von Mises stress, v , which is used to pre- This equation represents an ellipse in the plane 1 2 ,
dict yielding of materials under multiaxial loading con- as shown in the Figure above.
ditions using results from simple uniaxial tensile tests. The following table summarizes von Mises yield criterion
Thus, we dene for the dierent stress conditions.
Notes:

v = 3J2
2 Subscripts 1,2,3 can be replaced with x,y,z, or other
(11 22 )2 + (22 33 )2 + (33 11 )2 + 6(12 2 +
+ 23 2
31 )
= orthogonal coordinate system
2

(1 2 )2 + (2 3 )2 + (3 1 )2 Shear stress is denoted here as ij ; in practice it is
= also denoted as ij
2

= 32 sij sij

where sij are the components of the stress deviator tensor 3 Physical interpretation of the von
dev : Mises yield criterion

1 Hencky (1924) oered a physical interpretation of von

dev = (tr ) I Mises criterion suggesting that yielding begins when the
3
elastic energy of distortion reaches a critical value.[4] For
In this case, yielding occurs when the equivalent stress, this reason, the von Mises criterion is also known as the
v , reaches the yield strength of the material in simple maximum distortion strain energy criterion. This
tension, y . As an example, the stress state of a steel comes from the relation between J2 and the elastic strain
beam in compression diers from the stress state of a energy of distortion WD :
 3

J2
WD = 2G with the elastic shear modulus G = [3] Huber, M. (1903). Specic work of strain as a measure of
E
. material eort, Towarzystwo Politechniczne, Czas. Tech-
2(1+)
niczne, Lww

In 1937 [5] Arpad L. Nadai suggested that yielding begins [4] . The Mathematical Theory of Plasticity. Oxford, Claren-
when the octahedral shear stress reaches a critical value, don Press
i.e. the octahedral shear stress of the material at yield in [5] S. M. A. Kazimi. (1982). Solid Mechanics. Tata
simple tension. In this case, the von Mises yield criterion McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-451715-5
is also known as the maximum octahedral shear stress
criterion in view of the direct proportionality that exists
between J2 and the octahedral shear stress, oct , which
by denition is

2
oct = 3 J2

thus we have

2
oct = 3 y

4 Comparison with Tresca yield

criterion
Also shown in the gure is Tresca's maximum shear stress
criterion (dashed line). Observe that Trescas yield sur-
face is circumscribed by von Misess. Therefore, it pre-
dicts plastic yielding already for stress states that are still
elastic according to the von Mises criterion. As a model
for plastic material behavior, Trescas criterion is there-
fore more conservative.

5 See also
Yield surface

Henri Tresca

Mohr-Coulomb theory

Yield (engineering)

Stress

Strain

3-D elasticity

6 References
[1] von Mises, R. (1913). Mechanik der festen Krper im plas-
tisch deformablen Zustand. Gttin. Nachr. Math. Phys.,
vol. 1, pp. 582592.

[2] Ford, Advanced Mechanics of Materials, Longmans, Lon-

don, 1963
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