Approximate estimates of the high-temperature creep of structural elements

The creep and long-term strength of structural elements under temperatures much higher than operational temperatures are studied. The actual nonuniform stress-strain state is reduced to a fictitious uniform, state by averaging the specific dissipated power over the volume of the body. This allows one to estimate the intensity of creep and long-term strength of structural elements in terms of volume-averaged energy parameters by using methods of ideal plasticity and considering statically possible stress fields and kinematically possible velocity and strain rate fields.