Effect of Temperature on Creep Crack Growth

Investigations have been carried out to study the effect of temperature on crack growth under creep condition in 6061 Al alloy. A parameter approach, connecting the three variables - crack growth rate a˙, the load point deflection rate Δ˙ and the applied load P - given in the form where α, θ, and P_o are constants, has been found to give good correlation with the experimental data. The exponents, α and θ, are dependent on temperature. The activation energy for the crack growth process has been found to be around 24 Kcal/mole.