When a rock or mineral is subjected to stress, stress is proportional to strain as long as the elastic limit has not been exceeded. This relationship is known as Hooke's law. Plastic deformation takes place when a rock, mineral, or other substance is stressed beyond its elastic limit (Fig. 1). Plastic deformation is that deformation that produces a permanent change in the shape of a solid without that solid having failed by fracturing.
Stress-strain diagram for a solid that deforms first elastically and then plastically.
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References
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© 1987 Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc.
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Seyfert, C.K. (1987). Plastic deformation of rocks and rock-forming minerals . In: Structural Geology and Tectonics. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31080-0_78
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31080-0_78
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