In-situ Creep Testing Capability Development for Advanced Test Reactor

Creep is the slow, time-dependent strain that occurs in a material under a constant strees (or load) at high temperature. High temperature is a relative term, dependent on the materials being evaluated. A typical creep curve is shown in Figure 1-1. In a creep test, a constant load is applied to a tensile specimen maintained at a constant temperature. Strain is then measured over a period of time. The slope of the curve, identified in the figure below, is the strain rate of the test during Stage II or the creep rate of the material. Primary creep, Stage I, is a period of decreasing creep rate due to work hardening of the material. Primary creep is a period of primarily transient creep. During this period, deformation takes place and the resistance to creep increases until Stage II, Secondary creep. Stage II creep is a period with a roughly constant creep rate. Stage II is referred to as steady-state creep because a balance is achieved between the work hardening and annealing (thermal softening) processes. Tertiary creep, Stage III, occurs when there is a reduction in cross sectional area due to necking or effective reduction in area due to internal void formation; that is, the creep rate increases due to necking of the specimen and the associated increase in local stress