AN APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT IN A CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE MATERIAL FATIGUE TESTS IN A HIGH CYCLE REGIME WITH A CONTROLLED STRAIN RATIO

摘要

An apparatus (10) for carrying out high cycle fatigue tests of a specimen (12) under high pressure comprises: a pressure vessel (14); a load train composed of a first horn (16) and a second horn (18) between which a specimen (12) is to be arranged, wherein said load train is arranged within an internal chamber of the pressure vessel (14); and a converter (24) adapted to apply ultrasonic waves into the load train by exciting the first horn (16) in order to apply a dynamic stress to the specimen (12). A base part (30) of the second horn (18) is movably seated in the pressure vessel (14) such that two separated chambers (26, 28) are formed within the pressure vessel (14) with the first chamber (26) for the specimen, wherein both chambers (26, 28) can be fed with gas and charged with different gas pressures in order to apply a static stress to the specimen.