Creep

Objective
The objective of this laboratory is for you to observe and quantify creep deformation in an elemental polycrystallinemetalandapolymer.

Preparation
Read sections 13.113.11 of Meyers and Chawla; the introductory section of the journal article on Al(Sc) alloys;andtheintroductorysectionofthe2010journalarticleonpolyethylenecreep.

Equipmentandsamples
Creep apparatus with linearvariabledifferentialtransformer (LVDT); micrometer for calibratingtheLVDT. SamplesofAlandpolyethylenerods. Computer,dataacquisitionboard,plottingsoftware.

Introduction
A. Elastic,PlasticandCreepDeformation
Thesenotesemphasizecreepdeformationofmetals;formoredetailsaboutthemicroscopic mechanismsofcreepdeformationofpolymers,seesection13.11ofMeyersandChawla. When a material is subjected to a load at elevated temperatures it begins to irreversibly change its dimensionsbycreepdeformation.Creepisdistinguishedfromlowtemperaturedeformationbyitstime dependence. When load is first applied to a component, it undergoes virtually instantaneous elastic, and sometimes plastic strain, but zero creep strain. As time proceeds, however, the material continues tostrainowingtocreep.Thetotaldeformation(strain)canbeexpressedas,

= el ( ) + pl ( ) + c ( )

(1)

Whereel,plandcaretheelastic,plasticandcreepcomponentsofstrain,respectively. Creepstrainisobtainedbyintegratingtheexpression,

dt c =
0

(4)

Creep can n also be imp portant even if the creep strain s is relatively smal. For F example, strings on a guitar g or a violin n gradually loosen their te ension with time, requiring g the musicians to retune their instrum ments. More serious consequ uences can oc ccur when bo olts loosen during d high te emperature service. s Note e that n actuallych hangeitsdim mension,butthe t stressonthecompone entdecreases s.This thecomponentdoesnot ed stress relaxation. To se ee how this occurs, o we wi ill assume for r the moment that form of creep is terme e as, , thecreepratecanbeexpressed

c = B n

(5)

nthissituatio onisconstant t,i.e.d/dt=0,wecandif fferentiateeq qn.(1)withre espect Sincethetotalstrainin ndobtain, totimean

1 d = - B n d E dt
obtain,

(6)

where the e plastic strai in has been neglected. n By y integrating from = i at t = 0 to = f at t = t, we

n 1

n 1

= (n -1) BE Et

(7)

tion is plotted in Fig. 1. Notice N that th he elastic strain decreases s with time as a the creep strain This funct increases. Since the elastic e stress is proportion nal to the elastic strain, th he elastic stre ess decreases s with n, bolts that are used in high h tempera ature applications must be b occasional lly re time. For this reason tightened d.

Fi igure1.Repla acementofelasticstrainby b creepstrain nwithtimeathightemperature[1].

January25 5,2009

B. Three T Stag gesofCree ep

The creep p response of f a material can c be divide ed into three e stages, prim mary (sometim mes referred to as transientcreep),secon ndary(orstea adystate),andtertiary(or rfinal).Thefu ullcreepresp ponseofama aterial is illustrat ted in Fig. 2, where strain is plotted as s a function of o time. Although there are a three stag ges of creep, usu ually only ste eady state cre eep is of impo ortance since the other tw wo stages are brief; they do d not contribute e much to the overall stra ain or service e life of a com mponent. Ho ow the deform mation takes place during primary creep is not well un nderstood, but it seems clear c that cha anges in the microstructur m re are ace that make the material increasingly more diffic cult to deform m. This is no ot unlike the strain taking pla hardening g observed at a room tem mperature du uring tensile testing. The strain rate usually falls to a constant rather quickly y. During ter rtiary creep, flaws f develop p in the micro ostructure, ty ypically voids along ids accumulat te, the strain rate accelerates, and fracture soon oc ccurs. the grain boundaries. As these voi Ofmostconcern c formaterials m desig gn,therefore, ,isthesecondstageofcre eep.

Figure e 2. Three stag ges of creep deformation d [ [2].

C. SteadyStat teCreep
Various mechanisms m of o creep deformation have been iden ntified. All of o them, how wever, depen nd on diffusion, and this is why creep is s basically a high temper rature pheno omenon. Wh hat denotes "high temperature?"Guitarstringscreep patroomtem mperature,whileceramiccomponents c areoftenresistant to creep to t over 1500 0 C. Since di iffusion is inv volved, it is generally g usef ful to refer to o the homolo ogous temperature, TH, whic ch isthe ratio o of the actual temperatur re to the melt ting point, TH = T/Tm. As a ruleofthu umb,hightem mperaturege enerallymean nsTH>0.5. We will be b concerned d in this labo oratory only with power law creep, which w is expressed by Eq q. (5). Generally y 3 < n < 8, where w n is the stress expo onent. The full expression n for creep in n the steady state regimeisgivenby,

January25 5,2009

 Q c = A D exp . 0 k BT

(8)

Where is the shear modulus and kb is the Boltzmann's constant (1.381x1023 J/K). Notice in eqn.(8) the terms Doexp(Q/kbT), which is simply the diffusion coefficient, and n. The object of the present laboratory is to determine the values of the stress exponent, n, and activation enthalpy for creep, Q. The latter can be compared to the activation enthalpy for diffusion to check if creep and diffusion are indeedrelated.

Session1:CreepdeformationofpurepolycrystallineAl
CalibratetheLVDTusingamicrometer Measurethedimensionsofthesamplewithmicrometerandcaliper. Measure the creep strain of an aluminum sample (1100Al) as a function of time for different applied loads and at different temperatures. You will want to measure the temperature of the clamps at both ends of the sample and use the average of these temperatures to determine the temperature of your sample. At temperatures near 400 C, you will need to use a mass of approximately 1 kg. Near 530 C, you will need to use a mass of approximately 400 g. The best approach will probably be to systematically increase and decreasethemassatconstanttemperature. Analyze the dependence of creep strainrate on temperature and train to determine the activationenergyQforcreepandthestressexponentn.Convertdisplacementsandloadsto strainsandstresses.

Session2:Creepdeformationofpolyethelyene
Measurethedimensionsofthesample. Measure the creep strain of a polymer sample as a function of time for different applied loads and at different temperatures. The TAs will provide guidance on the masses and temperatures that are appropriate. Compare the creep deformation of polyethylene to the creepdeformationofthesimplemetalthatyoustudiedinsession1.

Instrumentprocedures
CreepApparatus
The creepapparatusissketchedbelowinFig.3.Aspecimenisclamped toheavyrodsandplacedintoa furnace. Thermocouples are placed near the top and the bottom of the specimen. Weights are added to the bottom support rod outside of the furnace. A linear variable displacement transducer (LVDT) is attached to the bottom support to measure the displacement. It is important that the support rods

January25,2009

have high creep resistance as the LVDT measures the total displacement of the sample and the rods. Weusestainlesssteelrods.TheLVDTshaveasensitivityof1m.

Fixed Support TC 1

Furnace Clamps

Sample

Gauge length

TC 2

LVDT Weights
Figure3.Creepapparatus.

CalibrationofLVDT
Before you begin the experiment, the LVDT must be calibrated. Essentially the LVDT measures the change in the inductance of a coil of wire as a ferromagnetic core moves through its center. The LVDT calibration is done as follows: (a) Place one end of the ferromagnetic core of the LVDT on a micrometer head and the other end through the LVDT transformer coils; (b) Adjust the micrometer head and the position of the ferromagnetic core in the transformer coils until the LVDT output reads about 1200 mV/V; (c) Then record the LVDT output at regular intervals (every 1 mm) of the micrometer head movement until the LVDT output reads around +1200 mV/V. The LVDTs you will be using in this laboratoryshouldbe linearwithinthisrange; (d)AgraphbetweentheLVDToutputand the micrometer headreadingswillresultinastraightlineandtheslopeofwhichwillgiveyoutheLVDTcalibration.

References
1. M.F. Ashby and D.R.H. Jones, Engineering Materials: An Introduction to their Properties and Application, Pergamon Press, 1st Ed, New York, 1980.

January25,2009

2. W.F. Smith, Foundations of Materials Science and Engineering, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2nd Ed, New York, 1993.

January25,2009