| Time dependent strain is an important factor in structural design, since it is often of the same order of magnitude as (or even larger than) instantaneous strain due to loading. Time dependent strain is generally due to creep and/or shrinkage. The time domain of creep and shrinkage can be of relatively long duration. Behavior of creep and shrinkage is actually non-linear over time, but the analysis of such behavior can be simplified by assuming linear behavior on a log scale of time. This can be obtained from a summation of each deformation over successive time intervals by superposition theory using a rate-type creep law, which provides suitable results for long time durations.;The Maxwell Chain model, winch is one common form of rate-type creep law, is computationally efficient and suitable for large-scale analyses. Following background discussions, this thesis involves the implementation and basic validation of this type of rate-type creep formulation within lattice models for structural analysis. |
