A note on bounding solutions for creeping structures subjected to load variations above the shakedown limit

Previous work has established upper bounds on the deformations which occur in the cyclic stationary state of a creeping structure. The present note extends the results to describe the transitional behaviour in reaching the cyclic stationary state and also to allow non-cyclic loading. A particular form of the upper bound is applied to experiments reported in the literature of a cylinder subjected to cyclic internal pressure and repeated thermal shocks.