An Energy-Based Paradigm for Reliability Assessment Caused by Creep Damage in Axisymmetric Components

The creep of materials is a research topic of major significance in the life assessment and design of many pressure components used in various industries, such as power generation plants and chemical plant refineries. Often, these components are axisymmetric, both in terms of geometry and loading. To predict the creep life of such components, one necessary ingredient is a creep damage paradigm. The current creep damage paradigms are either too cumbersome to be readily employed and/or not sufficiently accurate for practical applications. This paper describes a creep damage paradigm that alleviates the major shortcomings of the existing paradigms, yet is simple enough to be readily applicable to industrial cases. Comparison with experimental data shows that the paradigm is capable of predicting creep life with an accuracy of 14% or better.