Transitions in creep behaviour

Abstract

Attempts to identify the mechanisms operating during creep are often made by examining plots which yield apparent activation energies, or the stress or grain size-dependences of creep-rate. The forms of such plots are here examined and the ambiguities which arise near transitions from one regime to another are noted. The ranges of temperature, stress and grain size commonly used are inadequate and serious errors in interpreting the results of creep tests will continue to be made until a better understanding of the interaction of the basic processes is developed, so as to enable the positions of transitions to be predicted.