FATIGUE TESTING A SAMPLE BY CYCLICAL APPLICATION OF UNIDIRECTIONAL STRESS

摘要

A sample having a known mass and stiffness is rigidly secured to an axially elongated beam having a mass and a stiffness that are very large as compared to the mass and stiffness of the sample. The beam is then caused to resonate in the free-free mode. This subjects the sample to cyclical unidirectional stress. Advantageously, resonance of the beam occurs at an audio frequency, permitting severe fatigue tests requiring tens of millions of cycles to be completed in a relatively short time.