LAUSR

Abstract A procedure is described for Indentation Creep Plastometery (using a spherical indenter), which is analogous to that developed previously for Indentation Plastometry. As in that case, it is based on iterative numerical simulation of the indentation process, with repeated comparison between an experimental outcome and the corresponding model prediction, systematically varying the values of parameters in a constitutive law until optimal agreement is achieved. The constitutive law used here is the Miller–Norton relationship, which covers both primary and secondary creep regimes (although the transition between them is not well-defined). The experimental outcome is the penetration depth as a function of time, under a constant applied load. An important feature of the procedure is the prior creation of a spherical recess in the sample, having a pre-selected depth and a curvature radius equal to that of the indenter. This allows control over the stress levels created during the indentation creep testing and can be used to ensure that no (time-independent) plastic deformation is stimulated during the test. In the absence of such a recess, this is virtually unavoidable, since the stress levels created during initial contact between a spherical indenter and a flat surface tend to be very high. Such plasticity introduces unwanted complications into creep testing. Confirmation of the viability of the procedure is provided via comparisons between the creep characteristics of pure nickel samples at 750 °C, obtained in this way and via conventional uniaxial tensile testing.