The von Mises yield criterion predicts that yielding of a ductile material begins when the second deviatoric stress invariant, [latex]J_2[/latex], reaches a critical value. It is often expressed in terms of the von Mises stress, [latex]\sigma_v[/latex], a scalar value that must be less than the material’s yield strength, [latex]\sigma_y[/latex]. Yielding occurs when [latex]\sigma_v = \sigma_y[/latex].
