In material science, the yield curve describes the behaviour of a plastic material.
In a two-dimensional stress system (i.e. given forces acting upon a material from two directions) the pliability or stiffness of the material can be plotted on a graph in the form of a yield curve. The curve expresses the failure stress, the combination of stresses at which the material yields, or cracks. The area inside the curve, accordingly, represents a safe combination of stresses for this material.
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