FAILURE-MECHANISM MODELS FOR CREEP AND CREEP-RUPTURE

This tutorial illustrates design situations where creep and creep rupture of components can compromise system performance over time, thereby acting as a wearout failure mechanism. Polycrystalline materials, such as metals & ceramics, and polymers are treated. Analytic microstructural creep mechanisms leading to failure of these materials are presented. Continuum microscale models for predicting long-term creep are explained for practical design purposes. Two examples illustrate these models for mechanical engineering and electronic packaging situations.