The transition between the elastic and plastic states is sharp in the classical plasticity theory. To overcome this problem, many constitutive models, such as multi-yield-surface model and two-surface model, have been developed. However, these models can not represent the true deformation process in a material. In order to capture nonlinear hardening behavior and smooth transition from elastic to plastic state, a general model of fuzzy plasticity is developed. On the basis of the theory of fuzzy sets and TAKAGI-SUGENO fuzzy model, a fuzzy plastic model for monotonic and cyclic loadings in one dimension is established and it is generalized to six dimensions and unsymmetric cycles. The proposed model uses a set of surfaces to partition the stress space with individual plastic modulus. The plastic modulus between two adjacent surfaces is determined by a membership function. By means of a finite number of partitioning surfaces, the fuzzy plastic model can provide with a more realistic and practical description of the materials behavior than the classical plasticity model. The validity of the fuzzy plastic model is investigated by comparing the predicted and experimental stress-strain responses of steels. It was found that the fuzzy plasticity has the ability to handle many practical problems that cannot be adequately analyzed by the conventional theory of plasticity.
