Journal of Dental Research, Vol 70, 140-145, Copyright © 1991 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Fatigue strength of a Au-Pd alloy/585 solder combination
H. W. Wiskott, J. I. Nicholls and R. Taggart
Department of Restorative Dentistry SM-56, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
The S-N diagram (applied stress vs. cycles to failure) for the
gold-palladium alloy/585 solder combination was generated. Au-Pd alloy
specimens were cast, prepared for soldering, and joined with 585 solder.
After milling and polishing of the joint, testing was carried out in a
specially designed machine. This device loaded the cantilevered test
specimen in a unidirectional mode at a rate of 70 strokes per minute. The
applied tensile stress ranged between 294.2 and 686.5 MPa. Three specimens
were cycled for each stress level until fracture occurred. The number of
fatigue cycles to failure ranged from one cycle (stress level, 686.5 MPa)
to 4.83 x 10(6) cycles (stress level, 294.2 MPa). On a logarithmic scale,
the relationship between the applied stress and the number of cycles to
failure was linear. Under the present (ideal) experimental conditions, the
Au-Pd/585 solder combination behaved favorably on the high-cycle end of the
diagram. However, no definite endurance limit could be detected within the
stress range examined.
