Creep tests on notched specimens of copper

Abstract In Sweden, spent nuclear fuel is planned to be disposed off by placing it in canisters which are made of oxygen free copper alloyed with 50 ppm phosphorus. The canisters are expected to stay intact for thousands of years. During the long term disposal, the canisters will be exposed to mechanical pressure from the surroundings at temperatures up to 100 °C and this will result in creep. To investigate the role of the complex stress conditions on the canisters, creep tests under multiaxial stress state are needed. In the present work, creep tests under multiaxial stress state with three different notch profiles (acuity 0.5, 2, and 5, respectively) at 75 °C with net section stresses ranging from 170 MPa to 245 MPa have been performed. To interpret the experimental results, finite element computations have been conducted. With the help of the reference stress, the rupture lifetime in the multiaxial tests was estimated. The prediction was more precise for the higher acuities than for the lower one. In order to predict the creep deformation of the canisters for the long service period, fundamental creep models are considered. Previously developed basic models are used to compute the creep deformation in the multiaxial tests. Although the scatter is large, the agreement with the experiments is considered as acceptable, indicating that the basic models which have been successfully developed for uniaxial creep tests can also be used to describe multiaxial creep tests. Notch strengthening was observed for copper.