Abstract—The cyclic stress‐strain curves for 1% Cr‐Mo‐V steel and AISI 316 stainless steel were determined under biaxial loading conditions at various temperatures and strain rates. It is shown that these curves may be correlated in terms of the maximum shear stress and strain amplitudes. It is argued that, even though metals obey the von Mises yield criterion for monotonie loading, the micromechanisms of slip which produce the stabilized cyclic stress‐strain behaviour are governed by the Tresca