On the absence of a preferred configuration in constitutive relations of finite strain elasto-plasticity

There exists a large variety of different techniques used to generalize the Prandtl-Reuss relations of small strain elasto-plasticity to finite strains. Obviously, any systematic study of such generalization techniques should be based on some sound principles. In this work, one aspect is taken into account, concerning arbitrary isochoric change of the local reference configuration. We analyze some models of finite strain elasto-plasticity in order to find out if the specific choice of the reference configuration can affect the predicted stress response. For material models which remain invariant under the reference change, no preferred reference configuration exists. (© 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)