Plastic flow rule (${\dot{e}}^{\mathrm{p}}=\dot{\lambda }\partial g/\partial \tau$)

A plastic flow rule prescribes the direction and rate of plastic straining once a yield condition is active. In a plastic-potential model its direction is the stress gradient of $g$, multiplied by a nonnegative plastic multiplier. An associated flow rule takes $g$ equal to the yield function. The stress-strain split, loading conditions and hardening evolution are needed along with this equation to close an elastoplastic model.