A direct method on the evaluation of cyclic steady state of structures with creep effect

This paper describes a new extension of the Linear Matching Method (LMM) for the direct evaluation of cyclic behaviour with creep effects of structures subjected to a general load condition in the steady cyclic state, with the new implementation of the cyclic hardening model and time hardening creep constitutive model. A benchmark example of a Bree cylinder and a more complicated 3D plate with a centre hole subjected to cyclic thermal load and constant mechanical load are analysed to verify the applicability of the new LMM to deal with the creep fatigue damage. For both examples, the stabilized cyclic responses for different loading conditions and dwell time periods are obtained and validated. The effects of creep behaviour on the cyclic responses are investigated. The new LMM procedure provides a general purpose technique, which is able to generate both the closed and non-closed hysteresis loops depending upon the applied load condition, providing details of creep strain and plastic strain range for creep and fatigue damage assessments with creep fatigue interaction.