Fatigue Tests of Bimetal Zirconium-steel Made by Explosive Welding

The paper presents the fatigue test results including the cracks growth in the composite zirconium-steel subjected to oscillatory bending. Specimens of square cross-section without remelted layer and with a remelted layer were tested. In the specimens the net ratio of thickness of zirconium and steel layers was h1: h2 = 2.5: 1. The tests were conducted under controlled force with frequency 28.4 Hz. It was observed that a higher fraction of the intermetallic inclusions near the interface increase the fatigue life.