The paper deals with the element-free Galerkin implementation of two gradient plasticity formulations: one based on a Laplacian-dependent yield function and another, formulated in the strain space, based on the implicit averaging of a strain measure. The performance of the models is analyzed for the strain localization problem of a two-dimensional specimen under plane strain biaxial compression. The sensitivity of the results to the EFG discretization components and to the internal length scale is examined.
gradient continuum, plasticity, element-free Galerkin method, localization