Creep

When components are subjected to constant loads continuously for a longer period, they may
undergo progressive elastic deformation over time. This time-dependent strain is called creep.
Creep can be defined as slow and progressive deformation of material with time under
constant stress. Creep deformation is a function of stress and temperature. It generally occurs
at absolute temperatures above half the melting point of the material and is even present at
room temperature for materials like aluminium, copper and some plastics. Creep increases
with the increase in temperature, and therefore becomes very important for components
operating at higher temperatures like those of furnaces, steam & gas turbines, internal
combustion engines, nuclear reactors, rocket engines etc. The stress can be tensile,
compressive, bending or shear.

Components operating at higher temperatures must be designed in such a way that

deformation due to creep remains within the allowable limit and also creep deformation
doesn’t lead to rupture so that the product performs satisfactorily over time. Creep strength
and creep rupture strength are the two important properties of the material related to creep
design.

Creep Strength is the maximum stress that the material can withstand for a specified length of
time without excessive deformation. Creep Rupture Strength is the maximum stress that the
material can withstand for a specified length of time without rupture.

Figure shows a typical strain vs time plot known as creep curve. To obtain creep curve,
specimen is loaded with a constant force and variation of its length is observed at a constant
elevated temperature. Units of strain are mm/mm and time is measured in hours. When the
load is applied in the beginning of the test, some instantaneous elastic deformation or initial
strain occurs. Then with the passage of time, creep strain occurs. Creep curve is divided into
three stages, primary, secondary and tertiary creep, after which the rupture takes place. In the
start, strain increases rapidly, known as primary. In the secondary creep, strain increases
slowly at a constant rate. Again during the tertiary stage, strain rate increases and necking of
the specimen takes place followed by rupture. The creep test is repeated over a range of
temperatures to obtain a number of creep curves that are useful for design.

Load, Fatigue and Fatigue Failure

Load which changes in magnitude or direction or both with respect to time is known as
dynamic load. Cyclic load and impact load are types of dynamic loads. In case of static
loading, load is gradually applied and remains stable after reaching the maximum value
giving a steady value of stress. But there are a number of machine members which are
subjected to cyclic loads resulting in variable stresses that fluctuate between different levels.
For example, a particular fiber on the surface of a rotating shaft, subjected to bending load,
undergoes both tension and compression for each revolution of the shaft.

It was discussed that the failure of members, subjected to static load, occurs when the
induced stress reaches yield strength or ultimate tensile strength. But it has been observed
that machine members subjected to repeated or fluctuating stresses often fail at a maximum
value of induced stress well below the yield or ultimate tensile strength of the material. Such
failure is known as fatigue failure as it occurs after a large number of stress cycles.

A fatigue failure resembles to a brittle fracture and occurs without any noticeable plastic
deformation or necking. Its sudden occurrence, without any noticeable warning, makes it
dangerous. The fracture surfaces are flat and perpendicular to the stress axis. Fatigue failure
begins with a microscopic crack that occurs due to some discontinuity (oil holes, keyways,
screw threads etc.), surface irregularities due to machining (scratches, stamp marks,
inspection marks etc.) or material defects. This crack propagates due to fluctuating stresses,
grows continually and finally sudden fracture takes place.