Push-pull and plane bending fatigue tests were conducted on the sandwich-type composite plates composed of low carbon steel-copper or iron-copper to examine the effects of volume fraction and residual stress on the fatigue strength of composite plates. The composite plate specimens used in this investigation were fabricated by means of a diffusion bonding method.
The results of the push-pull fatigue tests indicate that the axial fatigue strength of sandwich plates can be estimated on the basis of the“mixture rule”. On the other hand, the results of the plane bending fatigue tests show that, as a first approximation, the residual compressive stress in the surface iron plate significantly improves the bending fatigue strength of sandwich plates, but the residual tensile stress in the surface copper plate reduces the fatigue strength of sandwich plates in comparison with that of the original copper plate.
