Creepkompliance

Creepkompliance is a concept used in materials science and mechanical engineering to describe the time-dependent deformation of a material under a sustained load, combining the ideas of creep and mechanical compliance. In practice, it refers to how strain accumulates with time when stress is applied and held constant.

In viscoelastic theory, the creep compliance function J(t) relates strain epsilon(t) to the applied constant stress sigma: epsilon(t) = sigma · J(t). The creepkompliance, as a term, is often used interchangeably with the creep compliance function, emphasizing the time-dependent nature of deformation under long-term loading. J(t) typically increases with time and is influenced by temperature, microstructure, and moisture or other environmental factors.

Applications include long-term structural analysis, polymer and composite design, and high-temperature engineering where materials experience sustained loads. Accurate characterization of creepkompliance enables prediction of deflection, residual stress, and service life, and informs standards for allowable deformation and safety margins.

Measurement of creepkompliance is usually performed with creep tests or step-stress experiments, and results are modeled with viscoelastic representations such as the Prony series, Kelvin-Voigt, Maxwell, or generalized models. Temperature and stress dependences are often captured with time-temperature superposition or other scaling relations.

Terminology note: while 'creep compliance' is the standard term in many texts, some authors use 'creepkompliance' or compound forms, particularly in German- and European-language contexts. The concept remains the same: it is the time-dependent strain response to a sustained stress captured by J(t).