Tensile strength of five metals and alloys in the nanosecond load duration range at normal and elevated temperatures

The paper presents results of measurements of the resistance to tensile fracture at spallation in nickel, cobalt, stainless steel, AlMg6% alloy, and Inconel IN 738 LC alloy. In the experiments carried out with a high-power ion beam as a shock-wave generator the load pulse duration was in the range of 50 ns. The measurements were performed at peak stresses varying by a factor up to 2 which had no influence on the dynamic tensile strength of the materials tested. For cobalt and Inconel measurements were also done at elevated temperatures. Whereas the response of cobalt was practically insensitive to temperature, IN 738 LC demonstrated a transition from viscous to relatively brittle fracture accompanied by a significant increase of the spall strength at higher temperatures. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.