A Study of the Fatigue Limit of Copper

J. AWATANI, K. KATAGIRI, A. OMURA, AND T. SHIRAISHI

This p a p e r shows that, in fatigue t e s t s on c o p p e r , a g r e a t n u m b e r of c y c l e s beyond e x p e c -

tation is n e c e s s a r y f o r d e t e r m i n i n g the f at i g u e l i m i t . An u l t r a h i g h f r e q u e n c y f at i g u e t e s t -
ing m a c h i n e was u s e d and S - N c u r v e s c o v e r i n g 101~ c y c l e s w e r e o b t a i n e d f o r a n n e a l e d
s p e c i m e n s and for s t r e t c h e d o n e s . In a n n e a l e d c o p p e r , the f a t i g u e l i m i t a p p e a r e d at about
9.8 x 109 c y c l e s . O b s e r v a t i o n s w e r e m a d e on the d e v e l o p m e n t of s l i p bands and s u b s t r u c -
t u r e s in the c o u r s e of a t e s t at the s t r a i n l e v e l (3.8 • 10 -4) of the f at i g u e l i m i t . The s l i p
bands co n ti n u e d to d e v e l o p up to about 9 • 109 c y c l e s , but r e m a i n e d u n c h a n g e d if f u r t h e r
c y c l e d . On a s e a r c h i n g e x a m i n a t i o n of the b e h a v i o r of m i c r o c r a c k s , one end of which
s t a y e d in a g r a i n without p r o p a g a t i o n , it was p r o v e d that f a t i g u e h a r d e n i n g was r e s p o n -
s i b l e f o r the e x i s t e n c e of the f a ti g u e l i m i t . C o n t r a r y to e x p e c t a t i o n , c e l l s t r u c t u r e s w e r e
found a f t e r 101~ c y c l e s in such a low s t r a i n f a t i g u e . In s t r e t c h e d c o p p e r , h o w e v e r , m i c r o -
c r a c k s continued to grow e v e n in the s t a g e beyond 101~ c y c l e s when f a t i g u e d at the s t r a i n
l e v e l of the f a ti g u e l i m i t i n f e r r e d f r o m its S - N c u r v e .

K J E N E R A L L Y , b e c a u s e of the a b s e n c e of a s h a r p knee o t h e r s e r i e s , the m a t e r i a l was m a c h i n e d to the s i z e

in the fatigue c u r v e , it is not c l e a r w h e t h e r a fatigue
l i m i t a p p e a r s in fcc m e t a l s . Some a u t h o r s 1 a r e in the
n e g a t i v e f o r i t s a p p e a r a n c e , but s o m e a t a k e an a f f i r m a -
t i v e p o s i t i o n f r o m the r e s u l t s of t h e i r t e s t s up to 108
c y c l e s at m o s t . F o r i n s t a n c e , m i c r o c r a c k s which n u -
c l e a t e d on w o r k e d s p e c i m e n s when c y c l e d under the
s t r e s s a s s u m e d to be its f a ti g u e l i m i t continued to g r o w
e v e n in the s t a g e beyond 101~ c y c l e s . T h e r e f o r e , to d e -
cide if a fatigue l i m i t e x i s t s in the s t r i c t s e n s e , a g r e a t
n u m b e r of s t r e s s c y c l e s s e e m to be n e c e s s a r y , and two
f a c t o r s should be c o n s i d e r e d : 1) w h e t h e r the S - N c u r v e
b e c o m e s h o r i z o n t a l at the high c y c l e r a n g e and 2)
w h et h er the s u r f a c e (or i n t e r n a l ) s t r u c t u r e s r e m a i n
unchanged, if f u r t h e r c y c l e d .
F o r r e s t e t al. 3 h a v e showed t h a t the f a t i g u e l i m i t of
a - b r a s s (N_< 5 • 107 c y c l e s ) e q u a l s the s t r e s s r e q u i r e d
to p r o p a g a t e a c r a c k a c r o s s a g r a i n - b o u n d a r y and not
the s t r e s s to s t a r t a c r a c k .
H o w e v e r , t h e r e m a y be s o m e d i f f e r e n c e s in fatigue
c h a r a c t e r b e t w e e n b r a s s and c o p p e r , b e c a u s e in c o p -
p e r c r o s s slip is r e l a t i v e l y e a s y and g r a i n b o u n d a r y
c r a c k s as w e l l as s l i p band c r a c k s a r e f o r m e d . Thus,
it is s t i l l a m b i g u o u s w h e t h e r o r not the r e s u l t s of F o r -
r e s t e t al. can be applied to the c a s e of c o p p e r . The
p r e s e n t i n v e s t i g a t i o n h a s t h e r e f o r e been u n d e r t a k e n
on p o l y c r y s t a l l i n e c o p p e r to find out w h e t h e r a f at i g u e
l i m i t e x i s t s , and, if it d o e s , to c l a r i f y i ts b a s i c m e c h a -
nism.
E XPERIMENTAL
The m a t e r i a l t e s t e d w a s c o m m e r c i a l l y p u r e c o p p e r
(99.95 pct). Two s e r i e s of s p e c i m e n s w e r e p r e p a r e d .
F o r one s e r i e s , the m a t e r i a l was m a c h i n e d to the s i z e
of the t e s t p i e c e ( c y l i n d r i c a l , 4.0 m m d i a m ) and then
a n n e a l e d at 850~ (1123 K) f o r 1 h in v a c u o . F o r the
of the s p e c i m e n f o r t e n s i o n , a n n e a l e d at 850~ (1123 K),
s t r e t c h e d by 15 pct, cut to the sh ap e of the t e s t p i e c e
and f i n a l l y p o l i s h e d with e m e r y p a p e r . B e f o r e t e s t i n g
all s p e c i m e n s w e r e e l e c t r o p o l i s h e d to r e m o v e the s u r -
face layer. Experiments, however, were mainly car-
r i e d out on the f o r m e r s p e c i m e n s , the g r a i n s i z e of
which was in the r a n g e of 100 #m to 300 #m. The m e -
c h a n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s of a n n e a l e d c o p p e r a r e shown in
Tab l e I.
B e c a u s e of the t i m e - c o n s u m i n g n a t u r e of f a t i g u e
t e s t i n g , the p r e s e n t study was c o n d u c t e d w h e r e i n the
t e s t i n g p e r i o d was r e d u c e d by u s i n g an u l t r a h i g h f r e -
q u e n c y t e s t i n g m a c h i n e o p e r a t i n g at 17.7 kHz (Fig.
l(a)). This m a c h i n e w o r k s in t e n s i o n and c o m p r e s s i o n
by u t i l i z i n g m a g n e t o s t r i c t i v e p h e n o m e n o n . The s p e c i -
m e n is in a f r e e m o d e l o n g i t u d i n a l v i b r a t i o n of a c o n -
s t a n t d i s p l a c e m e n t - a m p l i t u d e , that i s, it is u n d e r a
s t r a i n c o n t r o l l e d - c o n d i t i o n with z e r o m e a n s t r e s s .
H o w e v e r , b e c a u s e the s t r a i n is s m a l l , the d i s t i n c t i o n
f r o m a s t r e s s - c o n t r o l l e d co n d i t i o n s e e m s to be n e g l i -
gible. The d i s t r i b u t i o n of s t r e s s i n d u ced in the s p e c i -
m e n is s i n u s o i d a l a l o n g the s p e c i m e n a x i s . C o n s e -
quently, the m a x i m u m s t r e s s o c c u r s at the c e n t e r of
the s p e c i m e n , and its v a l u e can be c a l c u l a t e d f r o m
the d i s p l a c e m e n t - a m p l i t u d e of the f r e e end of the
s p e c i m e n m e a s u r e d t h r o u g h an o p t i c a l m i c r o s c o p e .
High f r e q u e n c y s t r e s s i n g w as a c c o m p a n i e d by c o n -
s i d e r a b l e h e a t g e n e r a t i o n due to m e c h a n i c a l h y s t e r -
e s i s , so that e f f i c i e n t c o o l i n g w as n e c e s s a r y in o r d e r
to k e e p the s p e c i m e n at a c o n s t a n t t e m p e r a t u r e . Thus,
e x p e r i m e n t s w e r e m a d e w h e r e i n the s p e c i m e n s w e r e
c o o l e d by a continuous flow of t e m p e r a t u r e - c o n t r o l l e d
w a t e r . ( F o r d e t a i l s of this m a c h i n e , s e e the R e f s . 4
to 6.)
Table I. Mechanical Properties of Annealed Copper

J. AWATANI, K. KATAGIRI, A. OMURA, and T. SHIRAISHI are Ultimate Tensile VickersHardness

0.2 Pet ProofStress Strength No. (Vhn), 25 g Reductionof
Professor, Assistant Professor, Technical Official, and Graduate Student,
kg/mmz (IVlN/m 2) kg/mm2 (MN/m2) (0.25N) Area,Pet
respectively; The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka
University, Japan. 2.3 (23) 24.1 (236) 43 67
Manuscript submitted March 25, 1974.

METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A VOLUME 6A, MAY 1975-1029

 (a) (b)
Fig. 1 - ( a ) V i b r a t i o n u n i t of u l t r a h i g h f r e q u e n c y f a t i g u e t e s t i n g m a c h i n e and (b) S - N c u r v e s for a n n e a l e d c o p p e r a n d s t r e t c h e d
copper.

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Fig. 2 - S t i p b a n d s on a n n e a l e d c o p p e r s t r e s s e d a t 4.9 k g / m m 2 (48 M N / m 2 ) ; (a) to 3 ~ 107 c y c l e s , (b) to 2 • 108 c y c l e s , (c) to
2 x 10 ~ c y c l e s a n d (a) to 9 • l 0 ~ c y c l e s .

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 3 - S u r f a c e a p p e a r a n c e s of s t r e t c h e d c o p p e r s t r e s s e d a t 7.7 k g / m m 2 (76 MN/m2); (a) to 2.6 • 109 c y c l e s , (b) to 8.7 x 109
c y c l e s a n d (c) to 1.5 • 101~ c y c l e s .

1 0 3 0 - V O L U M E 6A, MAY 1975 METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A

 OBSERVATIONS AND DISCUSSION
1) F a t i g u e L i m i t , S u r f a c e A s p e c t and
Substructures
Fig. l(b) shows S - N c u r v e s for a n n e a l e d and
s t r e t c h e d s p e c i m e n s o b t a i n e d on the t e s t s in which
the s t r e s s was r e p e a t e d m o r e than 101~ c y c l e s . The
two c u r v e s a r e a l m o s t h o r i z o n t a l at 9.8 x 109 c y c l e s *
*It has been found that the fatiguelife increasesmonotonicallywith increasing
frequency,e's In our tests, annealed copper cycledat 17,700 Hz survivedabout 6
times longerthan annealed copper under the same stress levelin normal tests (50
Hz). We think the fatiguelimit of annealed copper should be found at about 1.6
X 10 9 cycleswhen tested at low frequencies.
and 5 x 109 c y c l e s , r e s p e c t i v e l y . T h e r e f o r e , the f a t i g u e
l i m i t was t e n t a t i v e l y a s s u m e d to be 4.9 k g / m m 2 (48
M N / m 2) f o r a n n e a l e d c o p p e r and 7.7 k g / m m 2 (76
M N / m 2) f o r s t r e t c h e d c o p p e r . Then, to e x a m i n e
w h e t h e r o r not t h e s e s t r e s s v a l u e s w e r e the fatigue
l i m i t s in the s t r i c t s e n s e , o b s e r v a t i o n s w e r e m a d e
f r o m a m e t a l l u r g i c a l point of v i e w .
Fig. 2(a) through (d) r e v e a l s the g r o w t h of s l i p bands
on a n n e a l e d c o p p e r with an i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r of c y -
c l e s when s t r e s s e d at 4.9 k g / m m 2 (48 MN/m2). A l m o s t
no change was o b s e r v e d in the r a n g e beyond 9 • 109 c y -
c l e s . On the o t h e r hand, in the s t r e t c h e d s p e c i m e n s
f a t i g u e d at 7.7 k g / m m 2 (76 MN/m2), new m i c r o c r a c k s
n u c l e a t e d e v e n in the s t a g e beyond 109 c y c l e s , and the
c r a c k s as w e l l as s l i p bands continued to g r o w l i t t l e
by l i t t l e on f u r t h e r c y c l i n g as shown in Fig. 3(a)
through (c). The change in s u b s t r u c t u r e s d u r i n g s t r e s s
Fig. 4--Dislocation structures in annealed copper stressed at
4.9 kg/mm 2 (48 MN/m2); (a) to 3 x 107 cycles and (b) to 2 • 108
cycles.
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A
a l t e r n a t i o n s of 10 l~ c y c l e s (Fig. 6) s u g g e s t e d that f a -
tigue s o f t e n i n g was o c c u r r i n g in the s t r e t c h e d s p e c i -
m e n , 9 so that t h e r e a p p e a r e d to be no r e a s o n why s u c h
c r a c k s could not b e c o m e l a r g e enough to l e a d to f r a c -
t u r e , as long as the s t r e s s c y c l i n g continued. T h e r e -
f o r e , 7.7 k g / m m ~ (76 M N / m 2) e v a l u a t e d f r o m the S - N
c u r v e Of the s t r e t c h e d s p e c i m e n was not c o n s i d e r e d to
be a f a t i g u e l i m i t in the s t r i c t s e n s e , m F o r a n n e a l e d
c o p p e r , h o w e v e r , it could be c o n s i d e r e d that the f a t i g u e
l i m i t a s s u m e d above was w e l l s u p p o r t e d by the m e t a l -
lurgical observation.
Next, we o b s e r v e d f a t i g u e - i n d u c e d s u b s t r u c t u r e s to
d e r i v e m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n on the f a t i g u e m e c h a n i s m .
Fig. 4(a) and (b) a r e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s t r u c t u r e s f o r m e d
when the a n n e a l e d s p e c i m e n s w e r e s t r e s s e d at 4.9
k g / m m 2 (48MN/in 2) to 3 x l0 T and 2 • 109 c y c l e s , r e -
s p e c t i v e l y . Such d i s l o c a t i o n d i p o l e s and p a t c h e s w e r e
v e r y s i m i l a r to t h o s e o b s e r v e d u s u a l l y in n o r m a l f a -
tigue t e s t s . A f t e r s t r e s s i n g 10 '~ c y c l e s , h o w e v e r , c e l l
s t r u c t u r e s w e r e found b e s i d e s p a t c h e s ; s o m e w h a t r o u g h
c e l l s with f o r e s t d i s l o c a t i o n s as shown in Fig. 5(a) w e r e
m o s t f r e q u e n t l y o b s e r v e d , but r e l a t i v e l y c l e a r c e l l s
w e r e s o m e t i m e s o b s e r v e d (Fig. 5(b)). In t h i s t e s t , the
s t r e s s v a l u e of the f a t i g u e l i m i t c o r r e s p o n d s to the
total s t r a i n of 3.8 • 10 -4 a f t e r s a t u r a t i o n h a r d e n i n g is
r e a c h e d , and the p l a s t i c s t r a i n is c o n s i d e r e d to be
v e r y s m a l l , m a y b e one o r d e r of m a g n i t u d e l e s s . Since,
Fig. 5--Cell structures in annealed copper stressed at 4.9
kg/mm 2 (48 MN/m 2) up to 101~cycles; (a) most frequently ob-
served and (b) occasionally observed.
VOLUME 6A, MAY t975-1031
in c o p p e r f a t i g u e d in the low s h e a r s t r a i n r a n g e (2Vp but the c r a c k u n d e r o b s e r v a t i o n p r o p a g a t e d c o n s i d e r -
< 4 x10-3), only bundles of d i s l o c a t i o n d i p o l e s o r loops ably a c c o m p a n i e d by m a r k e d l y d e v e l o p e d s l i p bands.
w e r e u s u a l l y o b s e r v e d 11 and not c e l l s t r u c t u r e s , the The r e s u l t i n g a s p e c t is shown in Fig. 7(d).
p r e s e n t r e s u l t was s u r p r i s i n g . In g e n e r a l , a c r a c k with a round tip has b e e n s a i d to
On the o t h e r hand, a d i f f e r e n t kind of change was be d i f f i c u l t to a d v a n c e . 12 So, we p e r f o r m e d a s i m i l a r
o b s e r v e d in s u b s t r u c t u r e s of the s t r e t c h e d s p e c i m e n s
a f t e r s t r e s s i n g 101~ c y c l e s at the a s s u m e d fatigue l i m i t
(7.7 k g / m m z (76 MN/m2)), that is, a r o u g h c e l l s t r u c -
t u r e with p a t c h e s was t r a n s f o r m e d into a w e l l d e v e l -
oped c e l l s t r u c t u r e with the i n t e r i o r s of c e l l s a l m o s t
f r e e of f o r e s t d i s l o c a t i o n s . See Fig. 6(a) and (b). Such
a change in s u b s t r u c t u r e s s u g g e s t e d that softening was
o c c u r r i n g s l o w l y as the n u m b e r of c y c l e s i n c r e a s e d . 9

2) M e c h a n i s m of E x i s t e n c e of F a t i g u e L i m i t
To s e a r c h into the m e c h a n i s m of the e x i s t e n c e of a
f a t i g u e l i m i t in a n n e a l e d c o p p e r , m i c r o c r a c k s found
at 10 l~ c y c l e s w e r e e x a m i n e d . T h e s e could be c l e a r l y
r e c o g n i z e d by r e m o v i n g s l i p bands with e l e c t r o p o l i s h -
ing. Although s o m e c r a c k s w e r e found in i n t e n s e l y d e -
v e l o p e d s l i p bands as shown by F o r r e s t et al., 3 m o s t
w e r e found along g r a i n - o r twin b o u n d a r i e s . We a l s o
found c r a c k s , p a r t of which e n t e r e d into an a d j a c e n t
g r a i n and s t a y e d t h e r e without p r o p a g a t i o n . The p r e s -
ent w o r k is c o n c e r n e d c h i e f l y with such c r a c k s , b e -
c a u s e they m a y grow and, t h e r e f o r e , play a l e a d i n g
r o l e in the e x i s t e n c e of the fatigue l i m i t for this m a -
terial.
A s e r i e s of photos in Fig. 7 p r e s e n t the change in
the a p p e a r a n c e of such a c r a c k ; a) r e v e a l s slip bands
when s t r e s s e d 101~ c y c l e s at 4.9 k g / m m 2 (48 M N / m z)
and (b) the s a m e a r e a as (a) a f t e r e l e c t r o p o l i s h i n g .
The s p e c i m e n with this c r a c k was f u r t h e r s t r e s s e d
3 . 2 x 1 0 9 c y c l e s at the s a m e s t r e s s l e v e l . H o w e v e r ,
this c r a c k as well as the o t h e r type of c r a c k s a p p e a r -
ing in the s a m e s p e c i m e n showed no p r o p a g a t i o n (Fig.
7(c)). At this s t a g e , the s p e c i m e n was a n n e a l e d at
600~ (873 K) for 1 h in v a c u o , and s u b s e q u e n t l y Fig. 6--Dislocation structures in copper; (a) stretched 15 pet
s t r e s s e d a g a i n 1.6 x l 0 9 c y c l e s . The o t h e r type of and (b) stretched 15 pct and then stressed at 7.7 kg/mm 2 (76
c r a c k s r e m a i n e d unchanged e v e n in the l a s t p r o c e s s , MN/m 2) up to 10 t~ cycles.

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Fig. 7--Behavior of a crack, part of which stays in a grain; (a) as stressed at 4.9 kg/mm 2 (48 MN/m 2) to 101~cycles, (b) the
same area as (a) after eleetropolishing, (c) further stressed 3.2 x 109 cycles and (d) stressed again 1.6 x 109 cycles after an-
nealing at 600~ (873 K).

1032-VOLUME6A, MAY 1975 METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A

 (a) (b) (c) (d)
Fig. 8--Behavior of a boundary crack, the end of which enters into a grain; (a) as stressed at 4.9 kg/mm 2 (48 MN/m 2) to 101~
cycles, (b) the same area as (a) after electropolishing, (c) further stressed 3.2 x l0 S cycles and (d) stressed again 3.2 x 108
cycles after annealing at 600~ (873 K).

e x p e r i m e n t on a n o t h e r s p e c i m e n which had b e e n only

s l i g h t l y e l e c t r o p o l i s h e d and had a c r a c k with a c o n s i d -
e r a b l y s h a r p tip. The r e s u l t was v e r y s i m i l a r to the
above as shown in Fig. 8. This c r a c k was the l a r g e s t
one o b s e r v e d in the p r e s e n t work. N o t i c e that the r i g h t
end of the c r a c k e n t e r s a l i t t l e into the n e x t g r a i n .
T h e s e o b s e r v a t i o n s s u g g e s t that fatigue h a r d e n i n g
is c l o s e l y a s s o c i a t e d with the n o n - p r o p a g a t i o n of such
c r a c k s . It will be i n t e r e s t i n g t h e r e f o r e to know what
kind of s u b s t r u c t u r e s a r e c o n c e r n e d with this m e c h a -
n i s m . Fig. 9 r e v e a l s the ones o b s e r v e d in the s p e c i -
m e n f a t i g u e d and then a n n e a l e d u n d e r the s a m e c o n d i -
tions as above. This o b s e r v a t i o n s u g g e s t s that the f o r -
e s t d i s l o c a t i o n s induced by fatigue w e r e r e a r r a n g e d
d u r i n g a n n e a l i n g to c e l l b o u n d a r i e s ( m o s t l y t w i s t
b o u n d a r i e s ) , l e a v i n g r e g i o n s of r e d u c e d d i s l o c a t i o n
d e n s i t y : C o m p a r e Fig. 5(a) with Fig. 9. C o n t r a r y to
Fig. 9--Dislocation structures when annealed at 600~ (873 K)
a n t i c i p a t i o n that the c e l l wall would be r e s p o n s i b l e for 1 h after stressing at 4.9 kg/mm 2 (48 MN/m 2) to 10 lO cy-
for the b e h a v i o r of c r a c k s , this r e s u l t s e e m s to show cles.
that the f o r e s t d i s l o c a t i o n s play an i m p o r t a n t r o l e in
s t a y i n g the m i c r o c r a c k in the g r a i n without p r o p a g a -
tion; this e x p l a i n s the m e c h a n i s m of the e x i s t e n c e of
the fatigue l i m i t in a n n e a l e d c o p p e r .
M i c r o c r a c k s will e a s i l y g r o w in s p e c i m e n s having
s t r u c t u r e s a l m o s t f r e e of f o r e s t d i s l o c a t i o n s , as s e e m s
to be the c a s e with the c r a c k s a p p e a r i n g in the s p e c i -
m e n f a t i g u e d a f t e r s t r e t c h i n g as shown in F i g s . 3 and 6

3) C o m p a r i s o n with N o r m a l F a t i g u e
Tests
In the a p p l i c a t i o n of the r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d h e r e to the
c a s e of l o w e r f r e q u e n c y fatigue t e s t s , t h e r e is a b a s i c
p r o b l e m to be c o n s i d e r e d ; w h e t h e r o r not the fatigue
m e c h a n i s m c h a n g e s when the t e s t f r e q u e n c y is v a r i e d
to the u l t r a s o n i c r a n g e . A d i f f e r e n c e was o b s e r v e d in
the a p p e a r a n c e of s l i p bands in i r o n and b r a s s . 6'1a In
a n n e a l e d c o p p e r , h o w e v e r , such a d i f f e r e n c e was not
o b s e r v e d ; s l i p bands g r e w in length and width with an (a) (b)
i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r of c y c l e s as shown in Fig. 2. Also,
Fig. 10--Surface appearances of a specimen fatigued at ultra-
p e r s i s t e n t slip bands w e r e f o r m e d in i n t e n s e l y d e v e l - sonic frequency, 17,700 Hz, (the life = 3.5 • 106 cycles); (a) at
oped s l i p bands j u s t as in n o r m a l f a t i g u e . E v i d e n c e f o r 1.7 x 106 cycles and (b) the same area as (a) after eleetropol-
this is f u r n i s h e d by Fig. 10. F u r t h e r m o r e , d i s l o c a t i o n ishing.

METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A VOLUME 6A, MAY 1975 1033

s t r u c t u r e s w e r e v e r y s i m i l a r to t h e o n e s f o r m e d in
c o p p e r s u b j e c t e d to n o r m a l f a t i g u e tests.14'15 F r o m
t h e s e s i m i l a r i t i e s , it c a n b e c o n s i d e r e d t h a t , f o r c o p -
p e r , t h e m e c h a n i s m of f a t i g u e a t t h e u l t r a s o n i c f r e -
q u e n c y is a l m o s t the s a m e as that at l o w e r f r e q u e n -
cies.
SUMMARY
S u r f a c e c r a c k s a n d d i s l o c a t i o n s t r u c t u r e s in c o p p e r
specimens which were ultrasonically fatigued beyond
101~ c y c l e s a t t h e f a t i g u e l i m i t w e r e e x a m i n e d . T h e
principal findings are as follows:
a) E v e n a t s u c h a low s t r a i n a s t o b e a l m o s t i n t h e
e l a s t i c r a n g e (the t o t a l s t r a i n a m p l i t u d e , et = 3.8
• 10-4), c e l l s t r u c t u r e s w e r e f o r m e d w h e n s t r e s s a l -
t e r n a t i o n s w e r e c o n t i n u e d up to a b o u t 10 l~ c y c l e s .
b) In a n n e a l e d c o p p e r , t h e f a t i g u e l i m i t w a s r e a c h e d
a f t e r 9.8 • 109 c y c l e s , a n d t h e e x i s t e n c e of t h i s l i m i t
was well supported by metallographic observations.
c) It w a s p r o v e d t h a t t h e f a t i g u e l i m i t o c c u r r e d b e -
c a u s e o f f a t i g u e h a r d e n i n g in a n n e a l e d c o p p e r , a n d
f o r e s t d i s l o c a t i o n s s e e m e d to be c l o s e l y a s s o c i a t e d
with this mechanism.
d) In s t r e t c h e d c o p p e r , t h e s t r e s s l e v e l p r e s u m e d
f r o m t h e s h a p e o f S - N c u r v e w a s n o t c o n s i d e r e d to b e
a f a t i g u e l i m i t in t h e s t r i c t s e n s e , b e c a u s e c r a c k s
which were nucleated by alternations of this stress
c o n t i n u e d to g r o w e v e n in t h e r a n g e b e y o n d 1 0 1 ~
1034 VOLUME 6A, MAY 1975
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The a u t h o r s w i s h to a c k n o w l e d g e the h e l p of Mr.
A. K o r e e d a in t a k i n g t h e g r e a t n u m b e r o f e l e c t r o n -
micro~aphs needed for these experiments.
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METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONSA