Creep and Creep Testing - TWI
Creep and Creep Testing - TWI
Creep and Creep Testing - TWI
Creep testing is conducted using a tensile specimen to which a constant stress is applied
at a constant temperature, often by the simple method of suspending weights from it.
The use of metals at high temperatures introduces the possibility of failure in service by a
As the name suggests this is a slow failure mechanism that may occur in a material exposed
for a protracted length of time to a load below its elastic limit (see Connect article No. 69),
the material increasing in length in the direction of the applied stress. At ambient
temperature with most materials this deformation is so slow that it is not signi cant,
although the e ect of low temperature creep can be seen in the lead on church roofs and in
medieval glazing, where both materials have slumped under the force of gravity.
For most purposes such movements are of little or no importance. Increasing the
temperature, however, increases the rate of deformation at the applied load and it is vitally
components are to be safely designed for high temperature service. Failure to be able to do
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this may result in, for example, the premature failure of a pressure vessel or the fouling of
The drive for the more e cient use of fuels in applications such as power generation plant
and gas turbines demands that components are designed for higher and higher operating
alloys and to produce the design data the creep test is used.
In metals, creep failure occurs at the grain boundaries to give an intergranular fracture.
Fig.1 illustrates the voids that form on the grain boundaries in the early stages of creep. The
fracture appearance can be somewhat similar to a brittle fracture, with little deformation
visible apart from a small amount of elongation in the direction of the applied stress.
Fig.1. The voids that form on the grain boundaries in the early stages of creep a)
b)
The creep test is conducted using a tensile specimen to which a constant stress is applied,
often by the simple method of suspending weights from it. Surrounding the specimen is a
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attached to the gauge length of the specimen, Fig.2. The extension of the specimen is
measured by a very sensitive extensometer since the actual amount of deformation before
failure may be only two or three per cent. The results of the test are then plotted on a graph
The test specimen design is based on a standard tensile specimen. It must be proportional
(see Connect Article No. 69) in order that results can be compared and ideally should be
machined to tighter tolerances than a standard tensile test piece. In particular the
slightly bent specimen will introduce bending stresses that will seriously a ect the results.
The surface nish is also important - the specimen should be smooth, scratch free and not
cold worked by the machining operation. The extensometer should be tted on the gauge
length and not to any of the other load carrying parts as it is di cult to separate any
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produce creep data for materials that react with air these may be tested in a chamber
in an aggressive environment then the testing may need to be carried out in a controlled
Fig.3 shows that creep failure occurs in three distinct phases - a rapid increase in length
known as primary creep where the creep rate decreases as the metal work hardens. This is
followed by a period of almost constant creep rate, steady state or secondary creep and it is
this period that forms the bulk of the creep life of a component. The third stage, tertiary
creep, occurs when the creep life is almost exhausted, voids have formed in the material
and the e ective cross sectional area has been reduced. The creep rate accelerates as the
stress per unit area increases until the specimen nally fails. A typical failed specimen is
illustrated in Fig.4.
The creep test has the objective of precisely measuring the rate at which secondary or
steady state creep occurs. Increasing the stress or temperature has the e ect of increasing
the slope of the line ie the amount of deformation in a given time increases. The results are
produced by applying a speci ed load for a speci ed time and temperature eg 1% strain in
This enables the designer to calculate how the component will change in shape during
service and hence to specify its design creep life. This is of particular importance where
dimensional control is crucial, in a gas turbine for instance, but of less importance where
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changes in shape do not signi cantly a ect the operation of the component, perhaps a
pressure vessel suspended from the top and which can expand downwards without being
compromised.
There are therefore two additional variations on the creep test that use the same
equipment and test specimen as the standard creep test and that are used to provide data
for use by the designer in the latter case. These are the creep rupture test and the stress
rupture test. As the names suggest both of these tests are continued until the specimen
fails. In the creep rupture test the amount of creep that has occurred at the point of failure
is recorded. The test results would be expressed as %age strain, time and temperature eg
rupture occurs at 2% strain at 450°C in 85,000 hours. The stress rupture test gives the time
to rupture at a given stress and temperature eg 45N/mm2 will cause failure at 450°C in
97,000 hrs. This data, if properly interpreted, is useful in specifying the design life of
components when dimensional changes due to creep are not important since they give a
ASTM E139 Conducting Creep, Creep Rupture and Stress Rupture Tests of Metallic
Materials.
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