Creep and Plastic Ratchetting in Cyclically Thermally Loaded Structures

Summary

The behaviour of a simple two bar structure subjected to cyclic thermal loading is investigated both experimentally and theoretically for transitional conditions between creep and plasticity, using copper as a model strain-hardening material. It is found that a simple recovery model provides a close prediction of the observed behaviour. The corresponding rapid cycle solution gives a reasonable upper bound to deformation rates even when the loads pass outside the shakedown limit.