Résumé
This paper depicts one theoretical and experimental method to take into account the energy phenomena, associated with the elasto—plastic deformation process, during the elaboration of behaviour laws. The energy balance definition is examined in order to relate the stored energy of cold work to the hardening state variables. Two experimental approaches are used to study the evolution of the energy balance. The first one uses microcalorimetric technique and the second infrared technique. Several industrial metallic materials are studied by both approaches. Energy data are used to control the validity domain of the classical behaviour laws and to elaborate new more appropriate ones. Therefore, the hardening parameters cannot be identified with the thermodynamical forces. The use of energy considerations allows the definition of new thermodynamical forces and state variables, in the case of isotropic or kinematical hardening.