Fatigue of niobium. Technical progress report

Tests to determine the effects of frequency, test temperature, and hydrogen content on the fatigue life and crack propagation behavior of polycrystalline niobium are described. Unalloyed niobium is nearly insensitive to test frequency at 25/sup 0/C, while hydrided alloys exhibit a strong frequency effect. Increasing test temperature decreases fatigue life, consistent with decreasing tensile strength. A brief survey of irradiation effects on fatigue of refractory metal alloys suggests that fatigue resistance of irradiated niobium should increase in proportion to effects on strength.