Creep properties assessment of materials by a small cantilever beam specimen

Small specimen creep test techniques have been widely applied in the creep properties assessment of materials for the equipment in-service. In order to acquire the creep data accurately and conveniently, the creep test method with small cantilever beam specimens is proposed. On the basis of Norton Bailey creep law, analytical creep model for the cantilever beam specimen is derived. With this model, the load can be converted to equivalent uniaxial stress and the displacement rate can be converted to equivalent uniaxial strain rate. The creep properties of Cr-Mo steel are assessed by the cantilever beam specimens creep tests. And the creep parameters are evaluated, which are compared to the uniaxial creep parameters. The results show that parameters obtained from the cantilever beam tests correspond reasonably well with those from uniaxial tests. It proves that the primary and secondary creep properties can be assessed by the cantilever beam specimen tests.