Creep and Stress

Rupture
Creep
• Time dependent plastic deformation at constant
stress
• A constant tensile or compressive load is applied
to a specimen at a constant temperature
• ASTM Specification E139-70
Images from the creep test during
lab class
 Creep Curve
Constant
Load

Constant
Stress

Primary Creep (Stage I): Region of decreasing creep rate. Creep

resistance increases by virtue of own deformation. Dislocation
substructure causes an increase in overall resistance to creep.
Secondary Creep (Stage II): Region of constant and minimum creep
rate due to balance between strain hardening and recovery. Dislocation
substructure is stable.
Tertiary Creep (Stage III): Metallurgical instabilities such as localized
necking, corrosion, intercrystalline fracture, microvoid formation, etc.
Andrade’s Analysis of Creep Results

Constant stress creep curves represent superposition of two

separate creep processes, which occur after the sudden strain
on application of load.
Creep Curves
 Stress Rupture Tests
• These are accelerated creep tests ending with rupture.
• Usually carried out at a constant load.
• Loads are higher than those used in creep experiments.
• Time to rupture at a nominal stress and temperature is the parameter
sought in stress rupture test, while the minimum creep rate is
measured in creep test.
• Creep tests are conducted for 2000 h, and often to 10,000 h and the
total strain is less than 0.5%. In stress rupture tests, total strain is as
much as 50% and time is less than 1000 h.
• Applications for development of high temperature alloys.
 Creep & Rupture
Strengths
• Creep Strength is defined as the stress at a given temperature, which
produces a steady state creep rate of a fixed amount, usually taken as
10-5 per hour. (10-6 per hour for jet engine alloys, 10-7 per hour for
steam turbine alloys)
• Rupture strength refers to the stress at a given temperature to
produce a life to rupture of a certain amount, usually 1000, 10,000 or
100,000 h.

It is more economic to conduct stress-rupture tests than creep tests,

provided the creep strength could be determined from rupture
strength for design purpose.