ME251- Lab #333

WSU
Fall 20143
Creep Test
X
WSU ID:
Instructor :Rifath Shagor;
Date of Experiment: 10-27-2014
Due Date: 11-3-2014, 11:59 PM
 1. Abstract
The purpose of this experiment was to study the effects of material creep which is plastic
deformation that occurs at constant loading over time. Material creep occurs in four distinct
stages, instantaneous deformation, primary, secondary, and tertiary. Instantaneous deformation
is the initial, mostly elastic, deformation that occurs as soon as a load is applied to the material;
on the strain versus time graph it is shown as the starting point for the creep curve. Primary
creep is (as would be expected) the first stage and is characterized by a large initial but
decreasing rate of strain until the secondary stage is reached. In this stage, the strain rate is
basically constant, and it is this stage that is of most interest to engineers due to the fact that the
time length of secondary creep defines the service lifetime of a member under stress. Tertiary
creep exhibits a rapidly increasing rate of strain until eventual rupture. Creep as a whole is very
sensitive to temperature and occurs primarily at elevated temperatures ("elevated" being
dependent on the specific material being studied). It is of most concern when the operating
temperature to which the material is to be subjected is greater than or equal to forty percent of its
melting temperature. However, below forty-percent melting temperature, creep is negligible and
the service lifetime of the material is essentially infinity (with regard to creep) since the
secondary creep rate is almost zero. At the crystal level, creep can best be explained as the
gradual shifting of crystal grains to redistribute the applied stresses internally. This grain level
deformation builds up over time to result in the macroscopically observed plastic deformation of
the material sample as a whole.
When studying creep, the parameters of most interest are steady-state strain, rupture
lifetime, creep modulus, and creep strength. Steady-state strain is the strain rate of the secondary
stage of creep and is represented by the slope of the graph of strain versus time in the secondary
region. Rupture lifetime is the length of time up to rupture and as mentioned before is dependent
on temperature but is also dependent on the level of loading stress. Creep modulus is the ratio of
the initial applied stress to the strain at a point in time in the secondary stage. And finally, creep
strength is the maximum level of stress that can be sustained by a material without exceeding
deformation design parameters during a given length of time. When evaluating a material's
creep properties, there are three different test that may be conducted: the tensile creep,
compressive creep, or flexural creep test. As their names imply, the first applies a tensile load,
the second a compressive load, and the third a lateral load applied between two supports.
 2. Data
Table I
Gauge Length (in) Standard Load (lbf) Time Duration (min) Material
8.0 180.0 60.0 Polyethylene

Table II
Force (lbf) Extension (in) Strain (in/in) Time (min)
178.814 0.145 0.018125 0.1169833333
179.372 0.146 0.01825 0.1223333333
179.486 0.147 0.018375 0.1285833333
179.259 0.148 0.0185 0.1339333333
179.569 0.149 0.018625 0.1404666667
179.487 0.15 0.01875 0.1464833333
179.413 0.151 0.018875 0.1529
179.913 0.152 0.019 0.1595833333
179.977 0.153 0.019125 0.1665666667
179.884 0.154 0.01925 0.1741
179.899 0.155 0.019375 0.18105
179.293 0.156 0.0195 0.1884666667
179.762 0.157 0.019625 0.19635
179.935 0.158 0.01975 0.2038333333
179.943 0.159 0.019875 0.2115666667

3. Sample Calculation
Strain = (extension)/(gauge length) = (0.145 in)/(8.0 in) = 0.018125 in/in
Secondary creep rate = Δε/Δt = (0.08175-0.064)/(31.0437-20.05143) = 0.001614772 s-1

4. Results
Yield Strss Young Modulus Hardness Material
8.0 180.0 60.0 Polyethylene

5. Analysis
As predicted by the theory of creep strain, the instantaneous deformation was indicated
by a non-zero starting point for the strain vs. time graph; for this test the initial value was about
0.025 in/in. The primary creep stage, approximately lasting the first ten minutes of the test,
exhibited a decreasing rate of strain. Following this, a constant strain rate was observed in the
secondary stage, lasting from about the ten minute mark to the forty minute mark. This strain
rate was calculated to be 1.614 x 10-3 s-1. Finally, the tertiary stage exhibited an increasing rate
of strain lasting the last twenty minutes of the test until eventual fracture at the one hour
mark.Judging from the slopes of the creep stages as well as the time to fracture, the temperature
at which this test was conducted (room temperature ~23 °C) was most likely nearing (but still
below) forty-percent of the sample's melting temperature.
Figure 1

0.4

0.35

0.3
Strain (in/in)

0.25

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Time (min)

6. Conclusion
It can be seen that creep strain data would be of great value when designing wither static
or dynamic structures that need to function for long periods of time without exhibiting significant
deformation. Some examples of this would be bridge suspension cables, turbine blades,
cantilever supports, and etc. Furthermore, when considering service lifetime as it relates to
material creep, the normal and extreme operating temperatures of the member or product must be
considered. While creep tests do take a significant amount of time, by using extrapolation
techniques to approximate a fracture time from collected data, and by employing materials for
which the operating temperature is well below forty-percent of their melting temperature, the risk
of potential failure due to creep strain can be minimized.
7. References
[1]ASTM Standard E8
[2] Shagor, Rifath. "Lab #7 - Creep Testing"
[3] Shagor, Rifath. "Creep Test." Presentation.