Geometrical versus rheological transient creep closure in a salt cavern

An in-situ test performed in a brine-filled cavern proves that, when brine pressure decreases rapidly, the creep closure rate increases drastically. Conversely, a rapid pressure increase leads to “reverse” creep closure: cavern volume increases, even when, at cavern depth, fluid pressure is lower than geostatic pressure. It is tempting to explain these two phenomena by transient salt creep, a characteristic feature of salt rheological behavior commonly observed during laboratory creep tests. In fact, computations performed on an idealized cylindrical cavern excavated from a Norton–Hoff rock mass (a constitutive law that includes no transient component) prove that these two phenomena are, at least partly, of a structural nature: their origin is in the slow redistribution of stresses following any pressure change.     

Nonlinear creep and ductile creep rupture of perfectly elastoplastic rods under tension

The paper is concerned with the problem of predicting nonlinear creep strains and time to ductile rupture of prismatic rods under constant tension. The material of the rod is assumed isotropic, homogeneous, and perfectly plastic. The problem is solved using models that take into account the change in the geometry of the rod during creep, the finiteness of the creep strains, and the effect of the initial and actual elastic strains. The conditions whereby the characteristic dimension of the rod tends to infinity and the accumulated and real strains in the viscous flow are limited are used as a failure criterion. The calculated results are compared with experimental data for a number of steels and alloys to formulate the conditions for the ductile rupture and embrittlement of metallic materials under uniaxial creep __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 120–133, April 2008.     

Stability of shells in creep

We consider a thin homogeneous shell subjected to an arbitrary load causing loss of stability. We assume that the shell has some initial irregularities in its middle surface which can be described in terms of certain initial displacements. When the load is applied, these initial irregularities begin to develop due to creep and cause a redistribution of stresses over both the thickness and the entire area of the shell. This process of stress redistribution may be so considerable that at a certain moment the equilibrium state of the shell may become unstable in Euler's sense, i.e., at a certain moment several modes of equilibrium may be possible, transition to any one of these being instantaneous. We shall call this moment the critical moment of loss of stability of the shell.The deviation of the subcritical stress and strain state of an actual shell from the basic state corresponding to a perfectly smooth shell can be described by a system of equations in the stress and deflection functions, assuming that the quantities characterizing these deviations satisfy linearlized creep relations analogous to the relations for viscoelastic bodies. This system of equations must be combined with a system of stability equations which takes into account the stresses and strains defined by the system of equations of the subcritical state.     

Some basic solutions for nonlinear creep

The aim of the paper is to derive the exact analytical expressions for torsion and bending creep of rods that obey the Norton–Bailey, Prandtl–Garofalo and Naumenko–Altenbach–Gorash constitutive models. The common secondary creep constitutive model is the Norton–Bailey law which gives a power law relationship between creep rate and stress. The closed form solutions for fractional Norton–Bailey creep law are derived. The analytical formulas express the torque and bending moment as functions of the time for the period of relaxation. Other formulas express the twist rate and curvature as functions of the time for the duration of engineering creep experiment. The derived formulas are suitable for the practically important problems of machinery. Namely, the formulas are relevant for calculation of hereditary effects for helical, leaf and disk springs and twisted shafts.     

Time-dependent thermoelastic creep analysis of rotating disk made of Al–SiC composite

Time-dependent creep stress redistribution analysis of rotating disk made of Al–SiC composite is investigated using Mendelson’s method of successive elastic solution. All mechanical and thermal properties except Poisson’s ratio are radial dependent based on volume fraction percent of SiC reinforcement. The material creep behavior is described by Sherby’s constitutive model using Pandey’s experimental results on Al–SiC composite. Loading is an inertia body force due to rotation and a distributed temperature field due to steady-state heat conduction from inner to outer surface of the disk. Using equations of equilibrium, stress strain, and strain displacement, a differential equation, containing creep strains, for displacement is obtained. History of stresses and deformations are calculated using method of successive elastic solution. It is concluded that the uniform distribution of SiC reinforcement does not considerably influence on stresses. However, the minimum and most uniform distribution of circumferential and effective thermoelastic stresses belongs to composite disk of aluminum with 0% SiC at inner surface and 40% SiC at outer surface. It has also been found that the stresses, displacement, and creep strains are changing with time at a decreasing rate so that after almost 50 years the solution approaches the steady-state condition.     

Experimental investigation and modeling of non-monotonic creep behavior in polymers

The deformation behavior of two unfilled engineering thermoplastics, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and polycarbonate (PC), has been investigated in creep test conditions. It has been found that a loading history (prior to the creep test) comprising of loading to a maximum stress or strain value followed by partial unloading to arrive at the target stress value can greatly modify the strain-time behavior. Under such a test protocol, while the expected increase in strain during creep (constant tensile load) is observed, at relatively low creep stresses specimens have also demonstrated a monotonic decrease in strain. In an intermediate stress range, specimens have demonstrated time dependent behavior comprising of a transition from decreasing to increasing strain during creep in tension. This paper presents experimental results to delineate these findings and explore the effect of prior strain rate on the qualitative and quantitative changes in the output (strain-time) behavior. Furthermore, modification of the viscoplasticity theory based on overstress (VBO) model into a double element configuration is introduced. These changes confer upon the model the ability to yield non-monotonic behavior in creep, and supporting simulation results have been included. These changes, therefore, allow the model to simulate strain rate sensitivity, creep, relaxation, and recovery behavior, but more importantly address the issue of non-monotonic changes in creep and relaxation when a loading history involves some degree of unloading.     

On a damage law for creep rupture of clays with accumulated inelastic deviatoric strain as a damage measure

To avoid the dependency on origin of time, an improved damage law for creep rupture of clays is proposed considering the accumulated inelastic deviatoric strain as a measure of damage, instead of incorporating time directly. This law is incorporated into an existing anisotropic elastoplastic-viscoplastic bounding surface model for clays. The performance of the damage law was demonstrated via the simulations of creep rupture tests on undisturbed clays, and generally a good agreement between model simulations and test data was obtained. Discussions on the creep rupture parameters were followed and further improvement was suggested. At present when high quality test data for creep rupture is very limited, the proposed damage law could serve as a practical way to model creep rupture of clays.     

Description of creep within the framework of the field theory of defects

The creep laws are described within the framework of the field theory with the use of evolution equations for the density flux of uniformly distributed defects. For the case of uniaxial deformation under constant stress, it is shown that a certain critical stress that has the sense of creep stability limit exists and two deformation regimes can occur, depending on the magnitude of the external load. The unstable-creep rupture time is determined for the system in the case where the stresses are greater than the critical stress and the initial rate exceeds the unstable stationary rate. Institute of the Physics of Strength and Materials Science, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634821. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 177–183, May–June, 2000.     

A phenomenological model for anisotropic creep in a multipass weld metal

Creep strength of welded joints can be estimated by continuum damage mechanics. In this case constitutive equations are required for different constituents of the welded joint: the weld metal, the heat-affected zone, and the parent material. The objective of this paper is to model the anisotropic creep behavior in a weld metal produced by multipass welding. To explain the origins of anisotropic creep, a mechanical model for a binary structure composed of fine-grained and coarse-grained constituents with different creep properties is introduced. The results illustrate the basic features of the stress redistribution and damage growth in the constituents of the weld metal and agree qualitatively with experimental observations. The structural analysis of a welded joint requires a model of creep for the weld metal under multiaxial stress states. For this purpose the engineering creep theory based on the creep potential hypothesis, the flow rule, and assumption of transverse isotropy is applied. The outcome is a coordinate-free equation for secondary creep formulated in terms of the Norton–Bailey–Odqvist creep potential and three invariants of the stress tensor. The material constants are identified according to the experimental data presented in the literature.     

Generalized forces in the description of creep processes in beam elements

The intensity of the creep process and the time to rupture in bending and twisting of beam elements with various shapes are estimated. These estimates are compared with the use of equivalent external generalized forces.     

Chemically and mechanically driven creep due to generation and annihilation of vacancies with non-ideal sources and sinks

The classical concept of Nabarro creep is extended for a general dislocation microstructure. The specific mechanism of the creep consists in generation and annihilation of vacancies at dislocation jogs acting as non-ideal sources and sinks for vacancies. This mechanism causes the climb of dislocations, allowing for local volume and shape change. The final kinetic equations, relating the dislocation microstructure and the local stress state to the creep rate, are derived by means of the thermodynamic extremal principle. Closed-form equations for the creep rate are derived for isotropic polycrystals. Based on the model the creep rate in the ferritic P-91 type steel at very low applied stress is evaluated and compared with experiment.     

Stress and strain field near tip of mode III growing crack in materials with creep behavior

Using a proposed constitutive relation for materials with creep behavior, the stress and strain distribution near the tip of a Mode III growing crack is examined. Asymptotic equations of the crack tip field are derived and solved numerically. The stresses remain finite at the crack tip. Obtained qualitatively is the crack tip velocity and the local autonomy of the near tip field solution is discussed.     

Constitutive modelling of anisotropic creep deformation in single crystal blade alloys SRR99 and CMSX-4

A damage mechanics based model has been developed to model stress rupture and creep behaviour of the first and second generation single crystal superalloys SRR99 and CMSX-4. In this article the creep behaviour of CMSX-4 in several different orientations at 950°C is simulated using finite elements, these simulations are compared with the results of creep tests. In order that the effects of rotation and specimen bending can be accounted for in the analysis the entire creep specimen is modelled. The FE program ABAQUS has been used and the slip system model is written using a User MATerial subroutine (UMAT). EBSD (electron back scattered diffraction) measurements of the lattice rotations occurring during creep indicate that the active slip systems at 950°C are the <101>{111} and <112>{111} systems, our simulations show that the creep results can be explained by activating these two families of slip system. There is strong microstructural evidence that the significant components of the hardening matrix should be those causing self and latent hardening of the <101>{111} systems and latent hardening by the <101>{111} systems on the <112>{111} systems.     

Stress relaxation,creep and set recovery of elastomers

The stress relaxation, creep and recovery behaviour of a cross-linked unfilled natural rubber has been investigated at moderate stresses in tension. The aim being to extend the idea, initially developed by Alan Gent in his seminal 1962 paper on the relaxation behaviour of rubber, in order to understand and examine the time dependent mechanisms that are present in elastomers under strain. A method based upon the Boltzmann superposition principle was used to compare the creep compliance with a measurement of its recovery after release from a range of constant loads held for different times. The creep behaviour was seen to exhibit the usual linear dependence on the logarithm of time. The recovery data was also seen to reduce onto a single recovery curve for any given applied tensile stress for a range of loading times using the Boltzmann superposition principle. The differences between the relative rates of the creep and the recovery behaviour can in part be attributed to the non-linearity in the stress–strain behaviour exhibited in tension of the elastomer.     

The creep deformation of vibrating structures

In a recent paper [1] it was shown that the evaluation of certain bounding solutions for a structure subjected to cyclic loading was equivalent to assuming that the cycle time Δt was short compared with a stress redistribution time. Comparisons between values which are likely to occur in creep design situations indicated that Δt may often be assumed to be small and the bounding solution may be expected to closely approximate the actual stress history. In this paper the solution for the limiting case when Δt → 0 is evaluated for a class of constitutive relationships which may be expressed in terms of a finite number of state variables. Strain-hardening viscous, visco-elastic and Bailey-Orowan equations are discussed and particular solutions for which the residual stresses remain constant in time are derived. The solution for a non-linear visco-elastic model indicates that, for the stationary cyclic state, the constitutive equation need only predict the creep strain over a discrete number of cycles and need not predict the strains during a cycle. This observation should considerably simplify creep analysis.The solution of a simple example demonstrates the similarity between the predicting of the various constitutive relationships for isothermal problems. In fact they provide virtually identical solutions when expressed in terms of reference stress histories. The finite element solution of a plate containing a hole and subjected to variable edge loading is also presented for a viscous material. The solutions show behaviour which is similar to that of the two bar structure.     

On the elastic properties of model suspensions as investigated by creep recovery measurements in shear

 The elastic properties of model suspensions with spherical monodisperse hydrophilic glass spheres that were dispersed in a Newtonian liquid were determined in creep and creep recovery measurements in shear with a magnetic bearing torsional creep rheometer. The creep and creep recovery measurements were performed depending on the applied level of shear stresses ranging from 0.19 Pa to 200 Pa. Since the recoverable creep compliances of the chosen suspending medium (i.e. a low molecular weight polyisobutylene) were far below the lower limit of the resolution of the creep rheometer it can be considered to behave as purely viscous. By applying a large shear stress in the creep tests the investigated suspensions with a volume fraction of Φ _t =0.35 behave as Newtonian liquids, too. For these suspensions no significant recoverable creep compliances could be detected, as well. In contrast to the Newtonian state of suspensions at high shear stresses, where a shear induced ordering of the particles can be expected, a non-Newtonian behaviour arises by applying a very low shear stress in the creep test. In this state large recoverable creep compliances were detected for the suspensions. The magnitude of the recoverable creep compliances of the suspensions exceeded the largest creep compliances of polymer melts that are reported in the literature by more than two decades. From the results obtained by creep recovery measurements with a magnetic bearing torsional creep rheometer it can clearly be concluded that the particle structure present in the chosen model suspension gives rise to a pronounced elasticity. Received: 21 November 2000 Accepted: 12 July 2001     

Boundary element approach to creep deformation of edge notched and cracked specimens

A direct formulation of the boundary element method using a complex variable numerical approach is presented for the time-dependent inelastic stresses in edge notched and cracked creeping metallic structural components subject to high temperature gradients. Particular attention is focused on the numerical evaluation of energy rate contour integrals in single edge cracked specimens in tension. The constitutive models used in the numerical calculation are internal state variable creep–plasticity or elastic power law creep model. Numerical results are compared with solution obtained from other methods for different loading rates.     

Comparative estimation of high-temperature creep and rupture of structural materials

The possibility of comparing the rates of creep processes and times to rupture of materials is shown by the example of several structural alloys of different types. The creep equation is written in dimensionless form, which allows one to compare creep processes up to rupture in normalized quantities, to estimate their difference, and, in the case of coincidence of the normalized quantities for some materials under corresponding temperature-load conditions, to model the indicated processes using experimental data for one of these materials. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 123–130, March–April, 2008.