Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
The characterisation of dislocation mechanisms in connection with macroscopic mechanical properties are usually performed through transient tests, such as strain-rate jumps, load relaxations or creep experiments. The present paper includes a careful and complete theoretical analysis of the relaxation and the creep kinetics. We experimentally show that the plastic strain-rate is continuous at the transition between constant strain-rate conditions and both load relaxation and creep test. The product of the plastic strain-rate at the onset of the transient test () with the characteristic time (tk) of the transient is found to be independent of , as theoretically expected. This is a clear indication that the assumptions underlying the theoretical analysis are relevant.