Pure bending creep of SUS 304 stainless steel tubes

This paper presents the experimental and theoretical results of SUS 304 stainless tubes with different diameter-to-thickness ratio (D/t ratio) subjected to pure bending creep. Pure bending creep occurs when a circular tube is bent to a desired moment and held at that moment for a period of time. It was found that the magnitudes of the creep curvature and ovalization of tube cross-section increase faster with a higher hold moment than that with a lower one. Due to continuously increasing curvature, the circular tubes eventually buckle. Finally, a theoretical form was proposed in this study so that it can be used to describe the relationship between the creep curvature and time. Theoretical simulations are compared with the experimental test data, showing that good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results has been achieved.