Experimental characterization of a CuAg alloy for thermo-mechanical applications: non-linear plasticity models and low-cycle fatigue curves

The responce and low-cycle fatigue strength of a CuAg0.1 alloy for thermo-applications are investigated by isothermal strain-controlled fatigue tests at three temperature levels (room temperature, 250 degrees C, 300 degrees C). Both cyclic and stabilized stress-strain responses are used for identifying the material parameters of non-linear kinematic (Armstrong-Frederick, Chaboche) and isotropic models. The identified material parameters are used in numerically simulated cycles, which are successfully compared to experiments. Linear regression analysis of experimental fatigue data allows the mean low-cycle fatigue curves to be estimated. Approximate statistical methods are finally adopted to evaluate the design low-cycle fatigue curves at prescribed failure probability and confidence levels. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.