Abstract
In an effort to address inelastic creep behavior for very high temperature (VHT) applications, a unified state variable material model was used in a time dependent finite element analysis to generate isochronous curves. The resulting isochronous curves were then used in an efficient time-independent plastic analysis to predict the creep behavior of components. This simplified inelastic time-independent (SITI) method can significantly reduce the geometric and load uncertainties, and the over-conservatism in predicting inelastic strain levels. SITI is an effective and computationally efficient approach for predicting inelastic strains of components operating at high and very high temperatures such as the case in the Next Generation Nuclear Plant. This work compares the SITI inelastic strains to those obtained using fully inelastic time-dependent elastic-plastic-creep analysis, and illustrates the effectiveness of the approach in obtaining creep strain predictions without elaborate full inelastic time-dependent simulation.