Miniaturized disk bend test technique development and application

The objective of miniaturized specimen technology is to enable the characterization of mechanical behavior while using a greatly reduced or minimum volume of material. The significance of this technology is obvious to the nuclear industry where neutron irradiation space is limited and irradiation costs scale with specimen volume. In addition, the substantial advantages resulting from application of this technology in non-nuclear industries are only beginning to be realized. This paper primarily emphasizes the development of test techniques and procedures; however, results for the determination of uniaxial tensile behavior are presented to demonstrate the validity of the basic methodology. Recommended techniques for specimen design, specimen preparation, experimental design, experimental implementation, and data analysis are presented