Response surface application for estimating failure time and other creep properties using the Small Punch Creep Test

Design of experiments is a statistical technique to identify and quantify the causes of an effect in an experimental study. The design of experiments based on the response surface methodology (RSM) makes it possible to optimize the number of experiments performed to determine the influence of a number of factors in the final answer. This is very important when such experiments are costly, either in a computational or economic sense, as well as duration. The latter is the case of material creep behavior where the experimental tests can last quite a while. The main objective of this paper is to make use of the response surface methodology using the Small Punch Creep Test for the estimation of the creep parameters. This test is being used today as a feasible alternative for the estimation of creep behavior, especially in those cases when there is not sufficient material to perform standard tests. It basically consists of punching under constant load a miniature specimen, in which the sides of the specimen are clamped between two dies.