New contributions to the cyclic plasticity of engineering materials Written by leading experts in the field, this book provides an authoritative and comprehensive introduction to cyclic plasticity of metals, polymers, composites and shape memory alloys. Each chapter is devoted to fundamentals of cyclic plasticity or to one of the major classes of materials, thereby providing a wide coverage of the field. The book deals with experimental observations on metals, composites, polymers and shape memory alloys, and the corresponding cyclic plasticity models for metals, polymers, particle reinforced metal matrix composites and shape memory alloys. Also, the thermo-mechanical coupled cyclic plasticity models are discussed for metals and shape memory alloys. Key features: -Provides a comprehensive introduction to cyclic plasticity -Presents Macroscopic and microscopic observations on the ratchetting of different materials -Establishes cyclic plasticity constitutive models for different materials.-Analysis of cyclic plasticity in engineering structures. This book is an important reference for students, practicing engineers and researchers who study cyclic plasticity in the areas of mechanical, civil, nuclear, and aerospace engineering as well as materials science.