Creep and stress rupture

Subjects of interest

• The high temperature materials problem

• Temperature dependent mechanical behavior
• Creep test
• Structural change during creep
• Mechanisms of creep deformation
• Fracture at elevated temperature
• High temperature alloys
• Stress rupture test
Problem

• Slide 56 ,61
Creep

• Gas Turbine and jet Turbine

• Nuclear reactors
• Power plants
• Spacecraft
• Chemical processing
High temperature
applications:

Steam power plant Application in Oil

refinery.

Subjected to
high
stress at high Steam turbine
temperature used in power
plant
• Creep is the tendency of a solid material to slowly deform
permanently under the influence of stresses. It occurs as a
result of long term exposure to levels of stress that are below
the yield strength of the material. Creep is more severe in
materials that are subjected to heat for long periods, and near
the melting point. Creep always increases with temperature.

• The rate of this deformation is a function of the material

properties, exposure time, exposure temperature and the
applied structural load. Depending on the magnitude of the
applied stress and its duration, the deformation may become
so large that a component can no longer perform its function
— for example creep of a turbine blade will cause the blade to
contact the casing, resulting in the failure of the blade.
• Creep is usually of concern to engineers and
metallurgists when evaluating components that
operate under high stresses or high temperatures.

• Creep is a deformation mechanism that may or may

not constitute a failure mode. Moderate creep in
concrete is sometimes welcomed because it relieves
tensile stresses that might otherwise lead to cracking.
•Definition:
•When materials under severe service
conditions are required to sustain steady
loads for long periods of time, they
undergo a time dependent deformation.
This is known as creep
CREEP

•can also be defined as

‘ the slow and progressive
deformation of a material with time
at constant stress.’
Creep is found to occur at higher
temperature than at lower temp.

Therefore the study of creep is very

important for those materials which are
used at high temp like components of gas
turbines, furnaces, rockets, missiles etc.
creep?
Creep occurs when a metal is subjected to a constant tensile
load at an elevated temperature. Undergo a time-dependent
increase in length.
At which temperature that material will creep?
• Since materials have its own different melting point, each will
creep when the homologous temperature > 0.5.

• The creep test measure the dimensional changes which

occur when subjected to high temperature.
• The rupture test measures the effect of temperature on the
longtime load bearing characteristics.
 Equi-cohesive temperature
• Strength of GB = grain at the
equi-cohesive temperature (ECT).

ECT

Increasing the tendency for

intergranular failure
• Below ECT small grain sized material
is stronger due to high density of grain
boundaries to improve strength.
• Above ECT large grain sized material
is stronger due to less tendency for
grain boundary sliding.
Note: Single crystal structure is therefore
appreciable for high temperature
applications, i.e.., nickel base alloy single
crystal turbine blade. Fracture mechanism map
for nickel
 High temperature materials problem

Temp • Atoms move faster diffusion-controlled process.

This affects mechanical properties of materials.
• Greater mobility of dislocations (climb).
• Increased amount of vacancies.
• Deformation at grain boundaries.
• Metallurgical changes, i.e.., phase transformation,
precipitation, oxidation, re-crystallisation

High temperature materials/alloys

• Improved high temperature
strength.
• Good oxidation resistance
Fracture at elevated temperature

Transgranular fracture Intergranular fracture

Temp
Slip planes are weaker Grain boundaries are
than grain boundaries weaker than slip planes.

Transgranular cleavage fracture

Transgranular microvoid
Note: at T just below Trecrys, ductility drops due to grain boundary
sliding intergranular failure.
High temperature alloys
• High temperature alloys are complex in their microstructures
to obtain the required properties at service temperatures.
• High melting point alloys normally has high creep resistance.
• Metals with high stacking fault energy easy for slip  creep.
• Fine precipitates having high thermal stability are necessary for
high creep resistance (prevent grain growth). Ex: (1) Nickel base
alloy containing fine precipitates of intermetallic compounds Ni3Al,
Ni3Ti or Ni3(Al,Ti), (2) Creep resistance steels containing fine
carbides VC, TiC, NbC, Mo2C or Cr23C6.
Drawbacks

• Difficult to fabricate by hot-working, cold working or welding.

• Highly alloyed metals are difficult to produced by precision
casting.
Composition of some high
temperature alloys
reep test
The creep test is carried out by applying a
constant load to a tensile specimen
maintained at a constant temperature,
(according to ASTM E139-70).

Fig. Creep test setting

Fig. Typical creep curve

Fig. Schematic creep test
•Creep curve:
•The creep curve is obtained by
applying a constant tensile load
below the yield point to a
specimen maintained at constant
temp.
•As soon as the specimen is
loaded, there will be an
instantaneous strain which is
denoted by εo on the creep
curve.
•Further deformation of the
metal only after the
instantaneous strain is
considered as
•‘creep deformation’.
Primary creep: OR TRANSIENT CREEP

This is the first stage of the creep

which represents a region of
decreasing creep rate.
•In this region the rate at which
the material deforms decreases
with time until it reaches a
constant value.
•The creep rate goes on reducing
because as the metal deforms it
undergoes strain hardening and
offers more and more resistance
to further elongation.
• Transient creep:
•The principle characteristic of transient
creep is the decreasing rate in
deformation.
• Deformation is rapid at first but
gradually becomes slower and slower as
the rate approaches some fixed value.
•Transient creep in metals is observed at
all temp, even near absolute zero. Hence
it is some times referred to as ‘cold
creep’
SECONDARY CREEP
• Most of component life spent here.
• Strain rate is constant at a given T, 
--strain hardening is balanced by recovery
stress exponent (material parameter)
. n
 Q c 
s  K2  exp   activation energy for creep
strain rate  RT  (material parameter)
material const. applied stress
Adapted from
• Strain rate 2 00 Stress (MPa) Fig. 8.29, Callister 6e.
427C (Fig. 8.29 is from Metals
increases 10 0 Handbook: Properties
and Selection: Stainless
for larger T,  538 C Steels, Tool Materials, and
40 Special Purpose Metals,
Vol. 3, 9th ed., D.
20 Benjamin (Senior Ed.),
649 C American Society for
10 Metals, 1980, p. 131.)

10 -2 10 -1 1
Steady state creep rate s
(%/1000hr)
24
Secondary creep: [steady state creep]
Nearly constant creep rate,
because strain-hardening and
recovery effects
balance each other.
Creep in this region takes place by
the viscous flow in the
materials.
•Viscous creep: SECONDARY CREEP]
•It is characterized by the viscous flow
of the material means that there is a
constant or a steady increase in
deformation at constant stress.
•Although strain hardening is
present, its effect is just balanced
by the ‘recovery’ process which
has the opposite effect
•i.e. softening the metal.
•viscous creep is stopped when there
is considerable reduction in cross
sectional area and enters the tertiary
stage .
•

•The rate of deformation

increases rapidly in this 3rd stage
and fracture occurs at the end of
this stage.
• Viscous creep also known as ‘hot
creep', since it is observed only at
higher temperature.
• Tertiary creep :
This stage is period of increasing
strain rate.
Tertiary creep occurs when there
is an effective reduction in
cross-sectional area due to
necking or internal void
formation.
• Effect of low temperature :

•Temperature below Tm/4 are

called as LOWER TEMP.
•lower temp have an effect of
decreasing the creep rate.
•This is because strain hardening
effects will be more and recovery
process is negligible.
 Effect of stress on creep curves at
constant temperature

Applied stress

Temp

Strain

The shape of creep curve will slightly change

Creep rate according to the applied stress at a constant
temperature.
STRESS

STRAIN
• Creep occurring at lower temp is
known as ‘logarithmic creep’
•
ε = α ln t
where ε - strain ,
α – a constant
t – time .
•low temp. logarithmic creep
obeys a mechanical equation of
state i.e. the rate of strain at a
given time depends only on the
instantaneous values of stress
and strain and not on the
previous strain history.
•Effect of high temperature:

At Higher temp. the creep rate

increases.
•‘ structural changes’ takes place.
• Mobility of atoms increases
with temp and
• occupy lower energy
positions.

• Mobility of dislocation also

increases and they
overcome the obstacles by the
mechanism of climb.
• The concentration of vacancies
increases with temp
• and the rate of diffusion increases.

• Recrystallization takes place as a

result of increased rate of diffusion.
• Grains in polycrystalline
materials move relative to each
other .
• This grain- boundary sliding is a
shear process which occurs in
the direction of the grain
boundary and leads to
intergranular cracks.
Mechanisms of creep deformation

The chief creep deformation mechanisms can be grouped

into:
1) Dislocation glide
Involves dislocation moving along slip planes and overcoming
barriers by thermal activation. Occurs at high stress.
2) Dislocation creep
Involves dislocation movement to overcome barriers by
diffusion of vacancies or interstitials.
3) Diffusion creep
Involves the flow of vacancies and interstitials through a
crystal under the influence of applied stress.
4) Grain boundary sliding
Involves the sliding of grains past each other.
• 1) Dislocation glide :

•The creep rate is established by

the ease with which the
dislocation move across obstacles
such as precipitates, GB etc.
•Dislocation glide
Grain Boundary

Dislocation
•This may include cross-slip of
dislocations with the aid of
thermal energy.
•Dislocation glide results in
increase in plastic strain during
creep deformation.
•Occurs at high stress; σ/G>10-2
• 2) Dislocation
creep or
Dislocation climb:

•This is caused due to mutual

movement of dislocations &
vacancies.
•At high temp the diffusion rate of
vacancies is more which make the
dislocations to glide & climb,
•Controlling mechanism at high
temperatures and relatively low
stresses;10-4 <σ/G<10-2
•Occurs by dislocation glide created by
vacancy diffusion
.

Dislocation

Vacancy
Mutual movement of
dislocations & vacancies.
•3) Diffusion creep: -
•It occurs when temp. is high & at
relatively low stresses.
•diffusion of vacancies controls the
creep rate.
•Occurs for σ/G<10-4
•Includes Nabaro – Herring and Coble
creep
vacancies move from the surface of the
specimen towards the stress axis

Stress axis
•Stress directed atomic diffusion

•i.e.. when load is applied & kept

constant ,the vertical boundaries
are subjected to compression &
the horizontal grain boundaries
are subjected to tensile stress.
•so vacancies migrate from tensile
region to compression region &
atoms migrate in opposite direction
to vacancies.
•i.e. causing the creep strain along
tensile axis,
•the mechanism is called Nabarro-
herring creep because the flux of
atoms is through the bulk of
atoms.
•4) Grain boundary sliding:-
•At low temp the Grain boundaries
will not flow viscously & provide
obstacles to dislocation motion.
•At elevated temp , the grains in
polycrystalline materials are able to
move relative to each other, this is
called grain boundary sliding and is
an shear process which occurs in the
direction of grain boundary [GB] .
•a large no. of grains sliding with each
other results in plastic deformation due
to creep .

•GB sliding is promoted by increasing the

temp & or decreasing the strain rate.
•In fine grained materials because
of large no. of grains this type of
creep is more ,so to avoid it
large-coarse grained materials
are to be used.
•Ex :
•Ni-based super alloy with single
crystals in jet engine blades,
eliminates the possibility of creep at
high temp aided by grain boundary
sliding
 Deformation mechanism maps
• The various regions of the
map indicate the dominant
deformation mechanism for
the combination of stress and
temperature.
• At the boundary, two
mechanisms occur.

Note: G is the shear modulus

• Frequently more than one creep mechanism will operate.
• Deformation maps are graphs that show which deformation mechanism
dominates under different conditions
• Boundaries represents combination of stress and temperature where the
respective strain rate for two deformation mechanism are equal.
• Coble creep:
a form of diffusion creep, is a mechanism for deformation of crystalline solids. Coble
creep occurs through the diffusion of atoms in a material along the grain boundaries,
which produces a net flow of material and a sliding of the grain boundaries.
Coble creep is named after Robert L. Coble, who first reported his theory of how
materials creep over time in 1962 in the Journal of Applied Physics.

The strain rate in a material experiencing Coble creep is given by:

where
• σ is the applied stress
• d is the average grain boundary diameter
• Dgb is the diffusion coefficient in the grain boundary
• − QCoble is the activation energy for Coble creep
• R is the molar gas constant
• T is the temperature in Kelvin
 Diffusion Creep

Flow of vacancies according to (a) Nabarro–Herring and (b) Coble

mechanisms, resulting in an increase in the length of the
specimen.
• Note that in Coble creep, the strain rate  is proportional to the applied stress σ;


the same relationship is found for Nabarro-Herring creep. However, the two
mechanisms differ in their relationship between the strain rate and grain size d. In
Coble creep, the strain rate is proportional to d − 3, whereas the strain rate in
Nabarro-Herring creep is proportional to d − 2. Researchers commonly use these
relationships to determine which mechanism is dominant in a material; by varying
the grain size and measuring how the strain rate is affected, they can determine the
value of n in  and conclude whether Coble or Nabarro-Herring creep is dominant.

• Creep properties :-
•1) creep strength/ or creep limit:

•It is defined as the highest stress

that material can withstand
without excessive deformation
for a specified length of time.
 creep strength for a steam turbine
• Ex :-

blade may be that stress which will

produce just 0.2% creep for 10,000
hours of working at 800oC.
•Creep strength can also be defined
as the stress at given temperature
which produces steady state creep
rate of fixed amount say 10-11 to 10-8
/sec.
OR
It is the stress to cause a creep strain
of 1% in fixed time say 105 hours.
•Creep rupture strength:- it is defined as
the highest stress that a material can
withstand without rupture for a
specified length of time.
•Ex : For the same turbine blade . the rupture
strength is that stress which produces a
fracture in 1000HR OR 10000HR OR 100 000
hrs. at 800oC.
•Thus creep rupture strength is also
defined as the limiting stress below
which creep is so slow that will not
result in fracture within any finite
length of time.

•It is also called as” stress ruptures

strength”.
• 3) Creep life:
it is defined as the
TIME to fracture under a given static
load.
0

0
C
•Factors affecting Creep:

•Load :
•Temperature:
•Composition:
•Grain size
•Heat treatment
•Load : Creep rate increases as load
increases.
•Temperature: Creep rate increases as
T increases.
•Composition: Pure metals are softer
than alloys , the different phases
present stops the dislocation glide .
Hence creep is more in pure metals.
•Grain size: “Smaller the grain, stronger
the material.”
•But above Equicohessive temp. this
effect will be reversed one.
•Equicohessive temp. (Kelvin) Te > Tm/2
Heat Treatment: This changes the
structure, Obviously the materials
property changes, creep resistance also
changes.
.
Presentation of engineering
creep data

Fig. Stress vs minimum creep rate

 Creep data
• Creep data can also be presented as a plot of stress and
time to produce different amounts of total strain.

The upper most curve

is the stress rupture
curve.
• The percentage
beside each data point
is the percentage
reduction at failure.

Deformation time curve

The stress rupture test

CREEP TEST STRESS RUPTURE TEST

LOAD Low load High load
CREEP RATE Minimum creep rate High creep rate
TEST PERIOD 2000-10,000 h 1000 h
TOTAL STRAIN 0.5% 50%
STRAIN GUAGE Good strain measuring device Simple strain measuring device

The rupture test in carried out in a similar manner to the creep

test but at a higher stress level until the specimen fails and the
time at failure is measured.
• The higher stresses and creep rates of stress rupture test cause
structural changes to occur in metals at shorter times than would be
observed in creep tests and therefore stress rupture test can usually
be terminated in1000 hrs..
• Well suited to determine the relative high temp strength of new
alloys for jet engines applications
 • Rupture strength and
failure time are
plotted, normally showing
a straight line.
• Changing of the slope
indicates structural
changes in the material,
i.e.., transgranular
intergranular fracture,
oxidation,
recrystallisation, grain
growth, spheroidization,
precipitation.
• Direct application in
Fig. Stress rupture- time data on log-log scale design
•.
•Stress relaxation :-
•Stress relaxation is the time dependent
decrease in stress acting on a body which
is constrained to a certain fixed
deformation.

•In other words it is the reduction in the

value of stress in those compounds which
are not allowed to elongate.
•Ex :
•stress relaxation in bolts which
hold rigid bodies in tight contact ,
stress will reduce in such
numbers after a long period.
• Expression for stress relaxation :
• Consider a tensile specimen which is subjected to a
constant initial stress σi at elevated temp.
• The total strain of the specimen is given
• ε = εe+ εP

• This eqn. is the expression for stress relaxation this

gives the value of stress ( σ) at any instant of time t
with initial stress being σi.
• It is seen form the relation that (σ α 1/t)
• i.e. σ is inversely propotional to it.
• i.e. stress σ goes on decreasing with time with other
quantities being constant temp ,T1,T2,T3 , T1< T2<
T3.
• Fig stress relaxation curves.
.