Some advances in experimentation supporting development of viscoplastic constitutive models

The development of a biaxial extensometer capable of measuring axial, torsion, and diametral strains to near-microstrain resolution at elevated temperatures is discussed. An instrument with this capability was needed to provide experimental support to the development of viscoplastic constitutive models. The advantages gained when torsional loading is used to investigate inelastic material response at elevated temperatures are highlighted. The development of the biaxial extensometer was conducted in two stages. The first involved a series of bench calibration experiments performed at room temperature. The second stage involved a series of in-place calibration experiments performed at room temperature. A review of the calibration data indicated that all performance requirements regarding resolution, range, stability, and crosstalk had been met by the subject instrument over the temperature range of interest, 21 C to 651 C. The scope of the in-placed calibration experiments was expanded to investigate the feasibility of generating stress relaxation data under torsional loading.