Remember: Stage II (secondary creep) shows a constant strain rate — this is the most stable and useful region for designing high-temperature components.
Creep is the time-dependent plastic deformation of materials when subjected to a constant load at high temperatures. The creep curve generally consists of three distinct stages:
- Stage I (Primary creep): Decelerating strain rate due to work hardening.
- Stage II (Secondary or steady-state creep):Constant strain rate, representing a balance between work hardening and recovery processes.
- Stage III (Tertiary creep): Accelerating strain rate due to microstructural damage and eventual failure.
Stage II is the longest and most predictable phase, where the material deforms at a steady pace. It is crucial in engineering design for predicting long-term behavior of components under sustained high temperatures.