Influence of the cross-sectional shape of tensile bars on their creep rupture strength in an aggressive environment

The creep rupture strength of tensile bars in an aggressive environment is studied analysis. The time to rupture of the bars is analyzed as function of the shape of their cross section. It is shown that the influence of the aggressive environment on the creep rupture strength of the bars is determined by the diffusion of its elements into the bar material, resulting in a decrease of its creep rupture strength. The diffusion of the aggressive environment into the bar is studied using an approximate method of solving the diffusion equation taking into account the motion of the diffusion front. Bars with different cross-sectional shapes are considered using Rabotnov kinetic theory. It is shown that under the same tensile stress, the bar with a circular cross-section has minimum time to failure.