Since automotive heat exchangers are operated at elevated temperatures and under varying pressures, both static and dynamic mechanical properties should be known at the relevant temperatures. We have collected elevated-temperature tensile test data, elevated-temperature stress amplitude-fatigue life data, and creep-rupture data in a systematic fashion over the past years. For thin, soft, and braze-simulated heat exchanger tube materials tested inside closed furnaces, none of the well-established methods for crack detection and observation can be applied. In our contribution, we present a simple statistical method to estimate the time required for crack initiation.

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