Creep rate in compression is lower by factors of 2 to 10 than in tension if the microstructure of the two specimens is the same and are tested at equal temperatures and equal but opposite stresses. Such behavior is characteristic for monotonic creep and conditions involving cyclic creep. In the latter case creep rate in both tension and compression progressively increases from cycle to cycle, rendering questionable the possibility of expressing a time stabilized constitutive relationship. The difference in creep rates in tension and compression is considerably reduced if the tension specimen is first subjected to cycles of tensile creep (reversed by compressive plasticity), while the compression specimen is first subjected to cycles of compressive creep (reversed by tensile plasticity). In both cases, the test temperature is the same and the stresses are equal and opposite. Such reduction is a reflection of differences in microstructure of the specimens resulting from different prior mechanical history
