Corrosion fatigue performance of two copper alloys (admiralty brass and cupronickel 90/10) is investigated by conducting fatigue tests in artificial seawater. Two different experimental setups are developed and used: immersed rotating beam bending of round wires and immersed flexural cycling of rectangular plates. For the second setup, two sets of specimens are used: as-manufactured and after 1-year exposure to natural seawater in North Atlantic. In addition, the fatigue performance is compared between the dry and immersed tests. It is observed that the fatigue life of copper alloys in seawater environment depends on their composition and manufacturing parameters. Immersion in seawater does not affect low-cycle fatigue, however, high-cycle fatigue behavior shows significant differences. It is also observed that one-year preliminary exposure to natural seawater (stress-free corrosion) results in up to three times reduction of fatigue life at stress amplitudes corresponding to high-cycle fatigue.
