Creep Performance of Stainless Steel 316 Brackets: Insights From Conventional and Advanced Modeling Approaches

The long‐term mechanical reliability of structural components operating under high temperature is critically governed by creep deformation and damage evolution. In this study, a comparative assessment of creep damage in stainless‐steel 316 bracket is performed using both conventional and newly proposed creep models. The investigation focuses on quantifying creep strain accumulation, stress redistribution, and damage localization over extended service durations. Finite element (FE) simulations incorporating time‐dependent material behavior were conducted under representative thermal and mechanical loading conditions in FE software of ABAQUS, manufactured by Dassault Systemes, version 2020. Conventional models such as Norton's law and omega formulations were compared against a recently developed creep model that integrates time‐variable damage kinetics and stress‐state sensitivity. The results reveal that while traditional models provide a generalized estimate of creep life, the new model offers enhanced prediction accuracy, particularly in capturing tertiary creep and localized damage near stress concentration zones. The study highlights the limitations of conventional approaches and demonstrates the potential of the proposed model for more accurate life assessment of high‐temperature components in industrial applications. The accuracy analysis, based on mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), revealed that the new model consistently outperformed the traditional models, achieving an average percentage accuracy of 99.77%, compared to 94.69% for the analytical omega model and 95.19% for the omega–Norton–Bailey model. These findings provide valuable insights for the design and integrity evaluation of SS 316‐based structural elements exposed to creep‐prone environments.