Creep testing of steels at very high temperatures

This paper describes changes to specimen grips and specimen design in order to creep test steels at temperatures a little below the spalling temperature and at low stresses (long times) where a large amount of oxidation occurs. High ductility and oxidation of a creep specimen often mean that the thermocouples lose contact with the specimen surface and the specimen itself cannot be removed from the grips after testing. The improvements involve the use of corrosion resistant alloys with reasonable high temperature strength for the loading bars and grips, a change in grip design and measuring the temperature inside the specimen.