Fracture testing and performance of beryllium copper alloy C 17510

A series of test programs was undertaken on copper beryllium alloy C 17510 for several variations in material process and chemistry. These variations in C 17510 were primarily optimized for combinations of strength and conductivity. While originally intended for use as cyclically loaded high-field, high-strength conductors in fusion energy research, material testing of C 17510 has indicated that it is an attractive and economical alternative for a host of other structural, mechanical and electrical applications. ASTM tests performed on three variations of C 17510 alloys included both J-integral and plane strain fracture toughness testing (E813, E399) and fatigue crack growth rate tests (E647), as well as verifying tensile, hardness, Charpy, and other well defined mechanical properties. Fracture testing was performed at both room and liquid nitrogen temperatures, which bound the thermal environment anticipated for the fusion components being designed. Fatigue crack propagation stress ratios ranged from nominal zero to minus one at each temperature