Synchrotron radiation and microradiographic techniques were used to study the development of creep damage in notched tensile samples. The creep damage in these samples was recorded using microradiography. The density and distribution of creep damage was measured from the microradiographs using an image analysis system. The results from the image analysis can be compared to damage predictions from finite element models of the damage process to determine the quality of these models.

Notched tensile samples of copper, iron and a low alloy steel were subjected to slow strain rate tensile tests at 500°C or 700°C. The tests were interrupted after various fractions of the creep lives had been expended. 1 mm thick longitudinal sections were then removed from the center of each sample for microradiography using electro-discharge machining.

Creep damage in the copper alloy was concentrated in a fairly narrow band around the plane of minimum cross-section in the samples. This is in stark contrast to the results from iron and the low alloy steel. The creep damage in these materials developed at fairly sharp angles to the notch or crack plane. These results show that the damage process in iron and this steel is controlled by the equivalent stress while the formation of damage in copper is controlled by the maximum principal or hydrostatic stress.