Leaving Certificate Engineering Practice Exam 2025 – Complete Study Guide

Creep is a type of deformation that occurs in materials when they are subjected to constant stress over an extended period of time, particularly at elevated temperatures. This phenomenon is characterized by continuous and gradual strain, leading to a slow and ongoing change in the material's dimensions.

When a material experiences creep, it does not respond with immediate deformation as seen in rapid or elastic processes; instead, the deformation accumulates slowly under persistent loads, distinguishing it as a time-dependent process. This is why the choice referring to continuous and slow deformation is the correct one. Creep commonly affects materials like metals and polymers, especially in applications involving high temperatures and sustained loads, such as in structural components of machinery or power plants.

Other types of deformation mentioned, such as rapid and immediate or temporary and flexible, do not accurately describe the behavior experienced in creep, which is fundamentally a prolonged, steady-state deformation event. Similarly, elastic and recoverable deformation refers to immediate responses that return to original shape upon load release, contrasting sharply with the permanent nature of deformation associated with creep.