Table of contents

Introduction....................................................................................................................2
Importance of creep in design....................................................................................3
Creep test....................................................................................................................4
Examples of creep in engineering..............................................................................6
Conclusion......................................................................................................................7
References......................................................................................................................8
Introduction

Creep is an important factor in the time-dependent mechanical failure of engineering

Components. In system components it may have catastrophic consequences, but by
use of test methods it is possible to determine the condition and development of creep
at an early and non-critical stage.

Creep refers to a slow deformation in solids caused by stress below the yielding
strength whereby the mass of the strained solid flows or is transformed without
changes in its solidity. This deformation characterises the long-term stability of a
material towards mechanical load and it is important in calculating the serviceability
of structures [1].

Creep is not necessarily dependent on absolute high temperatures, but is depended on

relatively high temperatures that depend on the crystalline behaviour of the material
and its melting temperature. Creep can be defined as a time-dependent deformation at
absolute temperatures greater than one half the absolute melting. This relative
temperature (T (abs) /Tmp (abs)) is known as the homologous temperate. Creep is a
relative phenomenon which may occur at temperatures not normally considered
"high." At room temperatures, apart from the low-melting-point metals such as lead,
most metallic materials show only very small creep rates which can be ignored. With
increase in temperature, however, the creep rate also increases and above
approximately 0.4 Tm, where Tm is the melting point on the Kelvin scale, creep
becomes very significant [3].

2
Importance of creep in design

Creep is a deformation mechanism that may or may not constitute a failure mode; it
has several importances in the design process described bellow, which depend on the
design at hand. In the building industry moderate creep in concrete is sometimes
welcomed, because it relieves tensile stresses that otherwise may have led to cracking.

Creep deformation is important not only in systems where high temperatures are
endured such as nuclear power plants, jet engines and heat exchangers, but also in the
design of many everyday objects. In power application equipments the analysis of the
properties of selected micro-alloyed steels under creep conditions are normally made,
and based on this analysis, the suitability of their applications to power equipment can
be assessed[2].

When in service, an engineering component should never enter the tertiary stage of
creep. It is therefore the secondary creep rate, which is of prime importance as a
design criterion. Components, which are subject to creep, spend most of their lives in
the secondary stage, so it follows that the metals or alloys chosen for such
components should have as small a secondary creep rate as possible. In general it is
the secondary creep rate, which determines the life of a given component.

When materials are loaded in a temperature range where creep may occur, it is
important to know the material creep strength in regard to dimensioning, safety and
components lifetime. Therefore, creep can be used to estimate the number of hours for
materials’ remnant lifetime[7].

3
Creep test

Creep tests are carried out by loading a sample and observe the development of strain
as a function of time, for a given temperature and stress. Often the creep testing
machine is placed inside a furnace with a thermocouple attached to study the creep
behaviour at elevated temperatures[3]. The test is usually carried out at constant
temperature and under constant load conditions rather than at constant stress
conditions. This is expectable because it is more representative of service conditions.
A typical creep testing machine is shown in figure 2. Each end of the specimen is
screwed into the specimen holder which is made of a creep resisting alloy and
thermocouples and accurate extensometers are fixed to the specimen in order to
measure temperature and strain. The electric furnace is then lowered into place and
when all is ready and the specimen is at the desired temperature, the load is applied by
adding weights to the lower arm and the readings are taken at periodic intervals of
extension against time. It is important that the accurate control of temperature is
possible and to facilitate this equipment is often housed in a temperature-controlled
room.

The results from the creep test are plotted in graphical form to produce a typical curve
as shown in figure 2.

Figure 2 Typical creep test set-up

4
The measured strain vs. time data will have three distinct portions: the primary creep
region (transient), the secondary creep region (steady-state), and the tertiary creep
region (unstable, accelerated).

The primary region is transient due to the applied load at the beginning of the test In
terms of dislocation theory; dislocations are being generated continuously in the
primary stage of creep. With increasing time, more and more dislocations are present
and they produce increasing interference with each other’s movement, thus causing
the creep rate to decrease.

The secondary region takes the longest amount of time and the tertiary quickly
accelerates to stress rupture. Thus, the linear, steady-state behaviour in the secondary
region is the most important in practice to characterize and can be used to determine
how long a material can be used safely or effectively[5]. In the secondary region, the
rate at which strain occurs, i.e. the creep strain rate, which is the slope of the strain-
time curve, is given by:

e_ = Bs m (1)

Where s is the stress, B is the proportionality constant, and m is the stress-exponent. In

the secondary stage, a situation arises where the number of dislocations being
generated is exactly equal to the number of dislocations being annealed out. This
dynamic equilibrium causes the metal to creep at a constant rate. Eventually,
however, the creep rate increases and the specimen fails due to localized necking of
the specimen (or component), void and micro crack formation at the grain boundaries,
and various metallurgical effects such as coarsening of precipitates.

5
Examples of creep in engineering

Creep is usually of concern to engineers and metallurgists when evaluating

components that operate under high stresses or high temperatures.

An example of an application involving creep deformation is the design of tungsten

light bulb filaments. Sagging of the filament coil between its supports increases with
time due to creep deformation caused by the weight of the filament itself. If too much
deformation occurs, the adjacent turns of the coil touch one another, causing an
electrical short and local overheating, which quickly leads to failure of the filament.
Another example of the application of creep is in the creep behaviour of ceramic
materials in connection with their use in high temperature units of advanced
machinery. Knowledge in this field makes it possible to predict the service behaviour
and to design new material with predetermined properties[1].

In steam turbine power plants, pipes carry steam at high temperatures (566°C/1050°F)
and high pressures of 24.1 MPa (3500 psi) or greater[6]. Creep is an important
consideration in any application where a component must support a load at
temperatures where Tabs/TMPabs > 0.4. A jet engine is one good example where a
material operates at very high temperatures (about 1100 K, or Kelvin degrees).
Because the engine temperatures are so high, the alloys used for the turbine blades
operate at temperatures very close to their melting temperatures. They are called super
alloys [4]. Hence, it is crucial for correct functionality to understand the creep
deformation behavior of materials. Other applications include heat exchangers,
furnace lining, boiler baffles, high temperature bolts and springs.

6
Conclusion

When a material is loaded statically below the yield stress point for a long period of
time, the temperature impact may incur plastic deformation. The material is said to
creep.

A typical creep plot curve constitutes of three distinct portions: the primary creep
region, the secondary creep region, and the tertiary creep region. Since generally, the
primary and tertiary stages occur quickly, it is the secondary creep rate which is of
prime importance to the design engineer[5]. When in service, an engineering
component should never enter the tertiary stage of creep. In general it is the secondary
creep rate, which determines the life of a given component.

Creep deformation is important not only in systems where high temperatures are
endured such as nuclear power plants, jet engines and heat exchangers, but also in the
design of many everyday objects. Deformations caused by creep can be very
significant, thus it should be taken into account in the design process.

7
References

1. V. S. Bakunov. Refractories and industrial ceramics. 2007

2. Engineering Materials and Their Applications, 4th ed., Richard A. Flinn &
Paul K. Trojan; Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA
3. E.J. Mechanics of materials, 3rd ed. Strength of materials 2. Butterworth-
Heinmann. 1999.
4. www.mse.mtu.edu.com
5. Mechanics of Materials, Ferdinand P. Beer & E. Russell Johnston, Jr;
McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York.
6. www.wikipedia.com
7. www.forcetechnology.com