Lode coordinates or HaighâÂÂWestergaard coordinates . are a set of tensor invariants that span the space of real, symmetric, second-order, 3-dimensional tensors and are isomorphic with respect to principal stress space. This right-handed orthogonal coordinate system is named in honor of the German scientist Dr. Walter Lode because of his seminal paper written in 1926 describing the effect of the middle principal stress on metal plasticity. Other examples of sets of tensor invariants are the set of principal stresses or the set of kinematic invariants . The Lode coordinate system can be described as a cylindrical coordinate system within principal stress space with a coincident origin and the z-axis parallel to the vector .
The Lode coordinates are most easily computed using the mechanics invariants. These invariants are a mixture of the invariants of the Cauchy stress tensor, , and the stress deviator, , and are given by
which can be written equivalently in Einstein notation
where is the Levi-Civita symbol (or permutation symbol) and the last two forms for are equivalent because is symmetric ().
The gradients of these invariants can be calculated by
where is the second-order identity tensor and is called the Hill tensor.
The -coordinate is found by calculating the magnitude of the orthogonal projection of the stress state onto the hydrostatic axis.
where
is the unit normal in the direction of the hydrostatic axis.
The -coordinate is found by calculating the magnitude of the stress deviator (the orthogonal projection of the stress state into the deviatoric plane).
where
is a unit tensor in the direction of the radial component.
The Lode angle can be considered, rather loosely, a measure of loading type. The Lode angle varies with respect to the middle eigenvalue of the stress. There are many definitions of Lode angle that each utilize different trigonometric functions: the positive sine (It is incorrect (false) information that Chakrabarty defines shear stress mode angle with sin(Teta). Chakrabarty adopted Lode parameter with opposite sign than it has in the original Lode paper from 1926, see Page 59, formula (3) in the book ëChakrabarty, Jagabanduhu; 2006, Theory of Plasticity: Third edition, Elsevier, Amsterdam.û. Effectively Chakrabarty shear stress mode angle is defined with -sin(Teta) just like it did for the first time Novozhilov in his work from 1951, Novozhilov 183-194, ëàáÃÂïÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂã ÃÂÃÂÃÂàïÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂïÃÂààÃÂÃÂäÃÂàÃÂÃÂæÃÂïÃÂààÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂàãÃÂàãÃÂÃÂàáàÃÂÃÂÃÂû (On relations between stresses and strains in non-linear elastic media) from 1951. The first work in which arguments and discussion is delivered why it is wise and useful to define shear stress mode angle with sin(Teta) is the ZiolkowskiâÂÂs work ëParametrization of Cauchy Stress Tensor Treated as Autonomous Object Using Isotropy Angle and Skewness Angleû from 2022, <nowiki>https://et.ippt.pan.pl/index.php/et/article/view/2210</nowiki>. Accepting definition with sin(3Teta) in fact means that pure shears are accepted as comparison reference states, what has serious consequences.), negative sine, and positive cosine (here denoted , , and , respectively)
and are related by
These definitions are all defined for a range of .
The unit normal in the angular direction which completes the orthonormal basis can be calculated for and using
The meridional profile is a 2D plot of holding constant and is sometimes plotted using scalar multiples of . It is commonly used to demonstrate the pressure dependence of a yield surface or the pressure-shear trajectory of a stress path. Because is non-negative the plot usually omits the negative portion of the -axis, but can be included to illustrate effects at opposing Lode angles (usually triaxial extension and triaxial compression).
One of the benefits of plotting the meridional profile with is that it is a geometrically accurate depiction of the yield surface. If a non-isomorphic pair is used for the meridional profile then the normal to the yield surface will not appear normal in the meridional profile. Any pair of coordinates that differ from by constant multiples of equal absolute value are also isomorphic with respect to principal stress space. As an example, pressure and the Von Mises stress are not an isomorphic coordinate pair and, therefore, distort the yield surface because
and, finally, .
The octahedral profile is a 2D plot of holding constant. Plotting the yield surface in the octahedral plane demonstrates the level of Lode angle dependence. The octahedral plane is sometimes referred to as the 'pi plane' or 'deviatoric plane'.
The octahedral profile is not necessarily constant for different values of pressure with the notable exceptions of the von Mises yield criterion and the Tresca yield criterion which are constant for all values of pressure.
The term Haigh-Westergaard space is ambiguously used in the literature to mean both the Cartesian principal stress space and the cylindrical Lode coordinate space