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found that the onset of stage III is greatly delayed. In engineering situations it is

usually the load not the stress that is maintained constant, so a constant-load creep

test is more important.

Andrade’s (1957) showed that the constant stress-creep curve represents the

superposition of two separate creep processes, which occur after the sudden

straining due to application of load. The first component of the creep curve is a

transient creep in which the creep rate decreases with time. Added to this is a

constant-rate viscous creep component. The superposition of these creep processes

is shown in Fig. 2.5. Andrade observed that a creep curve can be represented by the

following empirical equation:

ε = ε 0 (1 + β 1t 1 / 3 ) e kt (2.8)

where ε 0 is the instantaneous strain, ε is the strain in time t, and β 1 and k are

constants.

To analyze creep in engineering structures and components, mathematical

models of creep are needed. For this purpose, the data obtained from the tensile

tests serve as the main source of information about creep.

2.3.2 Structural Changes during Creep

If the slope of a creep curve (Fig. 2.4) is plotted versus strain, a curve of

creep rate vs total strain is obtained (Fig. 2.6). This curve illustrates the large

change in creep rate, which occurs during the creep test. Since the stress and

temperature are constant, this variation in creep rate is the result of changes in the

internal structure of the material with creep strain and time.