A Rational Approach to the Analysis of Structural Effects due to Creep

Creep acts both positively and negatively on the long term service conditions of modern reinforced or prestressed concrete structures that are subjected to complex histories of loading and restraint conditions. Creep substantially modifies stress and strain patterns, increasing the load induced deformation, relaxing the stresses and activating the delayed restraints.. This paper illustrates how the use of the four fundamental theorems of the theory of viscoelasticity for aging materials , and the related fundamental functions, offers a reliable and rational approach for estimating these effects.