Tensile creep of dental amalgam.

Rather than the usual compressive dental creep, various types of one week old dental amalgams were continuously monitored in tensile creep. Testing was done at 37, 45 and 50 degrees C, in a specially designed apparatus capable of 0 to 60 degrees C while maintaining a constant true tensile stress of 17 MPa. For the first time, the classical four stages of creep were observed at elevated temperatures in the low Cu amalgams, including creep rupture. The high Cu systems displayed only transient creep up to 50 degrees C and no rupture. Approximately one half the stress was needed in tension to provide the equivalent creep in compression.