Experiment and constitutive modelling of creep deformation in the frozen silt-concrete interface

To ensure the long-term safety and stability of bridge pile foundations in permafrost regions,it is necessary to investigate the rheological effects on the pile tip and pile side bearing capacities.The creep characteristics of the pile-frozen soil interface are critical for determining the long-term stability of permafrost pile foundations.This study utilized a self-developed large stress-controlled shear apparatus to investigate the shear creep characteristics of the frozen silt-concrete interface,and examined the influence of freezing temperatures(−1,−2,and−5°C),contact surface roughness(0,0.60,0.75,and 1.15 mm),normal stress(50,100,and 150 kPa),and shear stress on the creep characteristics of the contact surface.By incorporating the contact surface’s creep behavior and development trends,we established a creep constitutive model for the frozen silt-concrete interface based on the Nishihara model,introducing nonlinear elements and a damage factor.The results revealed significant creep effects on the frozen silt-concrete interface under constant load,with creep displacement at approximately 2-15 times the instantaneous displacement and a failure creep displacement ranging from 6 to 8 mm.Under different experimental conditions,the creep characteristics of the frozen silt-concrete interface varied.A larger roughness,lower freezing temperatures,and higher normal stresses resulted in a longer sample attenuation creep time,a lower steady-state creep rate,higher long-term creep strength,and stronger creep stability.Building upon the Nishihara model,we considered the influence of shear stress and time on the viscoelastic viscosity coefficient and introduced a damage factor to the viscoplasticity.The improved model effectively described the entire creep process of the frozen silt-concrete interface.The results provide theoretical support for the interaction between pile and soil in permafrost regions.

Analytical model for predicting time-dependent lateral deformation of geosynthetics-reinforced soil walls with modular block facing

To date,few models are available in the literature to consider the creep behavior of geosynthetics when predicting the lateral deformation(d)of geosynthetics-reinforced soil(GRS)retaining walls.In this study,a general hyperbolic creep model was first introduced to describe the long-term deformation of geosynthetics,which is a function of elapsed time and two empirical parameters a and b.The conventional creep tests with three different tensile loads(Pr)were conducted on two uniaxial geogrids to determine their creep behavior,as well as the a-Pr and b-Pr relationships.The test results show that increasing Pr accelerates the development of creep deformation for both geogrids.Meanwhile,a and b respectively show exponential and negatively linear relationships with Pr,which were confirmed by abundant experimental data available in other studies.Based on the above creep model and relationships,an accurate and reliable analytical model was then proposed for predicting the time-dependent d of GRS walls with modular block facing,which was further validated using a relevant numerical investigation from the previous literature.Performance evaluation and comparison of the proposed model with six available prediction models were performed.Then a parametric study was carried out to evaluate the effects of wall height,vertical spacing of geogrids,unit weight and internal friction angle of backfills,and factor of safety against pullout on d at the end of construction and 5 years afterwards.The findings show that the creep effect not only promotes d but also raises the elevation of the maximum d along the wall height.Finally,the limitations and application prospects of the proposed model were discussed and analyzed.

Effect of pre-deformation on aging creep of Al-Li-S4 alloy and its constitutive modeling

A set of uniaxial tensile creep tests at different pre-deformations, aging temperatures and stress levels were carried out for Al-Li-S4 alloy, and the creep behavior and the effects of pre-deformation on mechanical properties and microstructures were determined under basic thermodynamics conditions of aging forming. The results show that pre-deformation shortens the time of primary creep and raises the second steady-state creep rate. Then, the total creep strain is greater, but in the range of test parameters it is still smaller than that without pre-deformation. In addition, transmission electron microscopy（TEM） observation shows that pre-deformation promotes the formation of T1 phase and θ′ phase and makes them distribute more dispersively, while inhibits the generation of δ′ phase, which leads to the improvement of mechanical properties of the alloy. A unified constitutive model reflecting the effects of aging mechanism, stress levels and different pre-deformations was established. The fitting results agree with the experimental data well.

Microstructure evolution and deformation features of single crystal nickel-based superalloy containing 4.2% Re during creep

By means of microstructure observation and measurement of creep properties,the high temperature creep behaviors of a single crystal nickel-based superalloy containing Re were investigated.Results show that the single crystal nickel-based superalloy containing 4.2% Re possesses a better creep resistance at high temperature.After being crept up to fracture,the various morphologies are displayed in the different areas of the sample,and the γ＇ phase is transformed into the rafted structure along the direction vertical to the applied stress axis in the regions far from the fracture.But the coarsening and twisting extents of the rafted γ＇ phase increase in the regions near the fracture,which is attributed to the occurrence of the larger plastic deformation.In the later stage of creep,the deformation mechanism of the alloy is that the dislocations with [01^-1]and [011] trace features shear into the rafted γ＇ phase.The main/secondary slipping dislocations are alternately activated to twist the rafted γ＇ phase up to the occurrence of creep fracture,which is thought to be the fracture mechanism of the alloy during creep.

Anisotropic time-dependent behaviors of shale under direct shearing and associated empirical creep models

Understanding the anisotropic creep behaviors of shale under direct shearing is a challenging issue.In this context,we conducted shear-creep and steady-creep tests on shale with five bedding orientations (i.e.0°,30°,45°,60°,and 90°),under multiple levels of direct shearing for the first time.The results show that the anisotropic creep of shale exhibits a significant stress-dependent behavior.Under a low shear stress,the creep compliance of shale increases linearly with the logarithm of time at all bedding orientations,and the increase depends on the bedding orientation and creep time.Under high shear stress conditions,the creep compliance of shale is minimal when the bedding orientation is 0°,and the steady-creep rate of shale increases significantly with increasing bedding orientations of 30°,45°,60°,and 90°.The stress-strain values corresponding to the inception of the accelerated creep stage show an increasing and then decreasing trend with the bedding orientation.A semilogarithmic model that could reflect the stress dependence of the steady-creep rate while considering the hardening and damage process is proposed.The model minimizes the deviation of the calculated steady-state creep rate from the observed value and reveals the behavior of the bedding orientation's influence on the steady-creep rate.The applicability of the five classical empirical creep models is quantitatively evaluated.It shows that the logarithmic model can well explain the experimental creep strain and creep rate,and it can accurately predict long-term shear creep deformation.Based on an improved logarithmic model,the variations in creep parameters with shear stress and bedding orientations are discussed.With abovementioned findings,a mathematical method for constructing an anisotropic shear creep model of shale is proposed,which can characterize the nonlinear dependence of the anisotropic shear creep behavior of shale on the bedding orientation.

Effect of rare earths on phase transformation in as-cast ZA27 alloy dur-ing compressive creep

The effect of the mixed rare earths of Ce on the phase transformation in ascast ZA 27 alloy during compressive was investigated under 37 MPa and at 160 deg C by X-raydiffraction technique and SEM. The results showed that the as cast microstructure of ZA 27-RE alloyconsisted of a dendritic Al-rich alpha' surrounded by Zn-rich beta' phase, interdendritic epsilonphase and Zn-rich eta phase together with a complex Z phase which was a complex constitute compound,(RE,Cu)Al_5Zn_(16), dispersed in crystal interfaces or branch crystal interfaces and stable duringcompressive creep test at 160 deg C. The phase transformations of ZA 27-RE alloy, decomposition ofbeta' phase arid four transformation, were delayed by the addition of rare earths, also the lamellarstructure and the spheroidized structure in ZA 27-RE alloy were finer than in ZA 27 alloy duringcompressive creep test at 160 deg C at the same creep time, and the compressive creep resistance ofZA 27-RE alloy was higher than that of ZA 27 alloy.

Viscoelastoplastic constitutive model for creep deformation behavior of asphalt sand

A uniaxial viscoelastoplastic model that can describe whole creep behaviors of asphalt sand at different temperatures was presented.The model was composed of three submodels in series,which describe elastoplastic,viscoelastic and viscoplastic characteristics respectively.The constitutive equation was established for uniaxial loading condition,and the creep representation was also obtained.The constitutive parameters were determined by uniaxial compression tests under controlled-stress of 0.1 MPa with five different test temperatures of 20,40,45,50 and 60 ℃.Expressions of the model parameters in terms of temperatures were also given.The model gave prediction at various temperatures consistent with the experimental results,and can reflect the total deformation characterization of asphalt sands.

Effects of pre-deformation mode and strain on creep aging bend-forming process of Al-Cu-Li alloy

The bending deformation method was adopted to characterize the creep deformation behavior of Al-Cu-Li alloy in the creep aging forming(CAF) process based on a series of CAF tests, and the evolution laws of its mechanical properties and microstructures under different pre-deformation conditions were studied. The results show that the bending creep strain characterization method can intuitively describe the creep variation. With the increase of the pre-deformation strain, the creep strain of the specimen firstly increases and then decreases. The increase of the pre-deformation strain can promote the course of aging precipitation, and improve the formed alloy’s tensile properties at room temperature, the Kahn tearing properties, and the fatigue propagation properties. Pre-rolled specimens produce a slightly weaker work hardening than pre-stretched specimens, but they also create a stronger aging-strengthening effect;thus the strength, toughness and damage performance can be improved to some extent. Among all the types of specimens, the specimen with 3% rolling after CAF treatment has the best comprehensive mechanical properties.

Cyclic Creep Deformation and Fracture of a Cr-Mo Rotor Steel at Elevated Temperatures

Static creep and cyclic creep tests were carried out on a Cr-Mo rotor steel from 0.5 to 0.6 T_m. Cyclic creep retardation occurred under the test conditions.With an increase of stress frequency, cyclic creep strain rate decreases and rupture time increases.The cyclic creep strain rate for the stress wave of a square shape is higher than that of a tri- angle shape.The apparent stress exponent of cyclic creep and the apparent activation energy of cyclic creep are both higher than those of static creep.The minimum strain rate is inversely proportional to rupture time for both static and cyclic creeps at dif- ferent stresses,temperatures,frequencies and wave shapes.The cyclic creep retardation mechanism was explored by the observation and analysis of the dis- location structure and fracture surface.

Effect of Interface Form on Creep Failure and Life of Dissimilar Metal Welds Involving Nickel-Based Weld Metal and Ferritic Base Metal

For dissimilar metal welds(DMWs)involving nickel-based weld metal(WM)and ferritic heat resistant steel base metal(BM)in power plants,there must be an interface between WM and BM,and this interface suffers mechanical and microstructure mismatches and is often the rupture location of premature failure.In this study,a new form of WM/BM interface form,namely double Y-type interface was designed for the DMWs.Creep behaviors and life of DMWs containing double Y-type interface and conventional I-type interface were compared by finite element analysis and creep tests,and creep failure mechanisms were investigated by stress-strain analysis and microstructure characterization.By applying double Y-type interface instead of conventional I-type interface,failure location of DMW could be shifted from the WM/ferritic heat-affected zone(HAZ)interface into the ferritic HAZ or even the ferritic BM,and the failure mode change improved the creep life of DMW.The interface premature failure of I-type interface DMW was related to the coupling effect of microstructure degradation,stress and strain concentrations,and oxide notch on the WM/HAZ interface.The creep failure of double Y-type interface DMW was the result of Type IV fracture due to the creep voids and micro-cracks on fine-grain boundaries in HAZ,which was a result of the matrix softening of HAZ and lack of precipitate pinning at fine-grain boundaries.The double Y-type interface form separated the stress and strain concentrations in DMW from the WM/HAZ interface,preventing the trigger effect of oxide notch on interface failure and inhibiting the interfacial microstructure cracking.It is a novel scheme to prolong creep life and enhance reliability of DMW,by means of optimizing the interface form,decoupling the damage factors from WM/HAZ interface,and then changing the failure mechanism and shifting the failure location.

Rock creep modeling based on discontinuous deformation analysis

Creep is one of the major problems of deep underground mining that must be studied theoretically,experimentally,and numerically over a long period.Experiments and feld tests are methods which can directly and more accurately describe the engineering practices as compared with others.However,these approaches are also time-consuming because creep problem of rock engineering,such as the roadway/tunnel squeezing phenomenon,usually lasts from several months to a few years.A numerical method can be employed to overcome this time-consuming problem.The discontinuous deformation analysis(DDA)method was originated in 1984 and received considerable attention from geo-engineers and researchers.The current paper discusses the creep calculation methods using the continuous and the discontinuous methods,and proposes a creep analysis method based on DDA.The method proposed in this paper can directly change the stiffness matrix while inheriting the advantages of the original DDA.Applying this method does not require any changes in the contact part of DDA.Thus,this method does not have any effect on the open–close iteration and convergence and can solve the creep problem,while maintaining the advantages of the original DDA.We theorized that creep problems are static problems,and based on this,the work using DDA in this study was divided into two parts:(1)addition of a new loop for the original DDA to‘‘discredited’’the total creep time into several time elements,thereby changing the material properties in each time element;and(2)division of each of the time elements by the time steps,similar to the original DDA.In this manner,one creep problem can be solved via assembling of static problems.Afterwards,the method mentioned above is employed to modeling a tunnel case.The evolution of the displacement fled and stress feld during creep are analyzed and discussed.

Effects of cold rolling deformation on microstructure,hardness,and creep behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel

Effects of cold rolling deformation on the microstructure, hardness, and creep behavior of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel （HNASS） are investigated. Microstructure characterization shows that 70% cold rolling deformation results in significant refinement of the microstructure of this steel, with its average twin thickness reducing from 6.4 μm to 14 nm. Nanoindentation tests at different strain rates demonstrate that the hardness of the steel with nano-scale twins （nt-HNASS） is about 2 times as high as that of steel with micro-scale twins （mt-HNASS）. The hardness of nt-HNASS exhibits a pronounced strain rate dependence with a strain rate sensitivity （m value） of 0.0319, which is far higher than that of mt-HNASS （m = 0.0029）. nt-HNASS shows more significant load plateaus and a higher creep rate than mt-HNASS. Analysis reveals that higher hardness and larger m value of nt-HNASS arise from stronger strain hardening role, which is caused by the higher storage rate of dislocations and the interactions between dislocations and high density twins. The more significant load plateaus and higher creep rates of nt-HNASS are due to the rapid relaxation of the dislocation structures generated during loading.

Creep constitutive model considering nonlinear creep degradation of fractured rock

Stability analysis of underground constructions requires a model study of rock masses’ long-term performance. Creep tests under different stress conditions was conducted on intact granite and granite samples fractured at 30° and 45° angles. The experimental results indicate that the steady creep strain rates of intact and fractured rock present an exponential increase trend with the increase of stress level. A nonlinear creep model is developed based on the experimental results, in which the initial damage caused by fracture together with the damage caused by constant load have been taken into consideration. The fitting analysis results indicated that the model proposed is more accurate at identifying the full creep regions in fractured granite, especially the accelerated stage of creep deformation. The least-square fit error of the proposed creep model is significantly lower than that of Nishihara model by almost an order of magnitude. An analysis of the effects of elastic modulus, viscosity coefficient, and damage factors on fractured rock strain rate and creep strain is conducted. If no consideration is given to the effects of the damage, the proposed nonlinear creep model can degenerate into to the classical Nishihara model.

TENSILE CREEP DEFORMATION AND DAMAGE BEHAVIOR IN A NICKEL-BASE SUPERALLOY AT 900℃

The tensile creep deformation and damage evolution in a Ni-base superalloy at 900℃/170MPa were investigated. At the first creep stage, abnormal creep occured due to the resolution of fine particles, and the deformation initiated from grain boundary areas. It is evident that nearly all of the dislocations were in γ matrix channels in form of dislocation pairs and the dislocations were impeded at γ/γ' interfaces, thus the dislocation networks developed deformation. At the steady creep stage, impeded dislocations atγ/γ' interfaces climbed over γ' phases by diffusion-dominant mechanism. At the last creep stage, voids were formed around carbides at grain boundary which leaded to accumulated damage and caused creep rate accelerated. With the dislocation networks being broken, the voids connected and grew into micro-cracks gradually. Finally the cracks propagated along grain boundary area and resulted in failure.

Microstructural evolution and creep deformation behavior of novel Ti-22Al-25Nb-1Mo-1V-1Zr-0.2Si(at.%) orthorhombic alloy

The microstructural evolution and creep deformation behavior which were adjusted and controlled by age treatment of a novel Ti-22Al-25Nb-1Mo-1V-1Zr-0.2Si(mole fraction,%)alloy,were investigated.The microstructures were obtained at different heat treatment temperatures and analyzed by SEM and TEM techniques.The creep behavior of the alloy was studied at 650℃,150 MPa for 100 h in air.The results showed that the initial microstructure mainly contained lath-likeα2,B2,and O phases.The precipitated O phase was sensitive to aging temperature.With the aging temperature increasing,the thickness of the precipitated O phase was also increased,and the length was shortened.The creep resistance of this alloy was relevant to the morphology and volume faction of the lamellar O phase.The increase of lamellar O phase in thickness was the main reason for the improved creep properties.

A NEW METHOD FOR MEASURING LONG-TERMCREEP DEFORMATION IN A SMALL REGION

Creep deformation localization is generally found in structures at high temperamture,typically in weldments. As the heat affected zone (HAZ) in a weldment is very narrow, deformation in HAZ region can hardly be measured by conventional displacement gauge. A new method for measuring long-term local creep deformation was developed by quartz optical fiber and technique of digital image analysis. The creep deformations of base metal, weld metal and HAZ in weldments are thereby determined with crossweld specimens.

Improving creep strength of the fine-grained heat-affected zone of novel 9Cr martensitic heat-resistant steel via modified thermo-mechanical treatment

The infamous type Ⅳ failure within the fine-grained heat-affected zone (FGHAZ) in G115 steel weldments seriously threatens the safe operation of ultra-supercritical (USC) power plants.In this work,the traditional thermo-mechanical treatment was modified via the replacement of hot-rolling with cold rolling,i.e.,normalizing,cold rolling,and tempering (NCT),which was developed to improve the creep strength of the FGHAZ in G115 steel weldments.The NCT treatment effectively promoted the dissolution of preformed M_(23)C_(6)particles and relieved the boundary segregation of C and Cr during welding thermal cycling,which accelerated the dispersed reprecipitation of M_(23)C_(6) particles within the fresh reaustenitized grains during post-weld heat treatment.In addition,the precipitation of Cu-rich phases and MX particles was promoted evidently due to the deformation-induced dislocations.As a result,the interacting actions between precipitates,dislocations,and boundaries during creep were reinforced considerably.Following this strategy,the creep rupture life of the FGHAZ in G115 steel weldments can be prolonged by 18.6%,which can further push the application of G115 steel in USC power plants.

Unsaturated Creep Behaviors of Weak Intercalated Soils in Soft Rock of Badong Formation

The cutting slopes in soft rock of redbed appeared in Yichang-Badong highway often suffer from the instability along weak intercalations, so the creep behaviors of weak intercalated soils are crucially important for the stability of cutting slopes. Because the deformation of weak intercalated soils is significantly affected by water content due to the strong water sensitivity, it is necessary to study the influence of matric suction on the creep behaviors of weak intercalated soils. In order to find out the unsaturated creep characters of weak intercalated soils, a GDS unsaturated triaxial apparatus was used. Then the triaxial creep experiments on weak intercalated soil samples under varying matric suction were conducted to obtain the unsaturated creep curves. The results show that the weak intercalated soils have obvious creep behaviors, and the creep strain is in nonlinear relationship with stress and time. When the matric suction is constant, a larger deviator stress will lead to a larger creep strain; When the deviator stress is constant, a smaller matric suction will lead to a larger creep strain. Based on the Mesri creep model, an improved creep model for weak intercalated soils under varying matric suction was established, in which the relationship of stress-strain was expressed with a hyperbolic function, and the relationship of strain-time was expressed with power functions in stages. Then an unsaturated creep model including stress-matric suction-strain-time for weak intercalated soils was established based on the power function relationship between matric suction and Ed(a parameter of the improved creep model). The comparison of the calculated values of creep model and the experimental values shows that the creep behaviors of weak intercalated soils can be predicted by the unsaturated creep model by and large.

Uncovering the creep deformation mechanism of rock-forming minerals using nanoindentation

The creep phenomenon of rocks is quite complex and the creep mechanisms are far from being well understood.Although laboratory creep tests have been carried out to determine the creep deformation of various rocks,these tests are expensive and time-consuming.Nanoindentation creep tests,as an alternative method,can be performed to investigate the mechanical and viscoelastic properties of granite samples.In this study,the reduced Young’s modulus,hardness,fracture toughness,creep strain rate,stress exponent,activation volume and maximum creep displacement of common rock-forming minerals of granite were calculated from nanoindentation results.It was found that the hardness decreases with the increase of holding time and the initial decrease in hardness was swift,and then it decreased slowly.The stress exponent values obtained were in the range from 4.5 to 22.9,which indicates that dislocation climb is the creep deformation mechanism.In addition,fracture toughness of granite’s rock-forming minerals was calculated using energy-based method and homogenization method was adopted to upscale the micro-scale mechanical properties to macro-scale mechanical properties.Last but not least,both three-element Voigt model and Burgers model fit the nanoindentation creep curves well.This study is beneficial to the understanding of the long-term mechanical properties of rock samples from a microscale perspective,which is of great significance to the understanding of localized deformation processes of rocks.

Microscopic Indicators of Stick-Slip and Creep-Slip in Deformation Products From the Daqingshan Piedmont Active Fault

Through the collection of oriented samples,consolidation of undisturbed samples,and systematic microscopy of thin sections,the deformation products from the Daqingshan piedmont active fault zone have been studied.The obtained results have been analyzed in combination with those of rock fracture experiments and macroscopic surveys.Based on the above,the present article summarizes the microscopic indicators of stick-slip and creep-slip,which reflect the characteristics of fault movement,and has given some suggestion on relevant problems.