INTERPRETATION OF IMPRESSION CREEP DATA USING A REFERENCE STRESS APPROACH

A sound, mechanics-based approach has been developed to allow conventi onal creep data to be obtained from impression creep test data; the re ference stress method was used, to analyse the results of axisymmetric finite calculations, for this purpose. The equivalent uniaxial stress was found to be 0.296 times the mean indenter pressure and the effect ive gauge length was found to be about 0.755 times the indenter diamet er. These values correspond closely with those which have been obtaine d by fitting indenter creep data to conventional uniaxial creep data.