creep mechanisms

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creep mechanisms The mechanisms by which materials deform at the Earth's surface or, more commonly, at depth. These can be: (a)cataclastic, in which individual grains or fragments physically rotate or glide past one another;(b)dislocational, by a gliding motion along crystalline dislocations;(c)grain-boundary sliding;(d)recrystallization; and(e)the diffusion of individual atoms. Each process is dependent on the degree, temperature, and duration of the stress.

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