Influence of cold working on fatigue behavior of stainless steels used for prothesis: application to the study of wires with small sections.

Orthodontists mainly use stainless austenitic wires with a wide range of ultimate tensile strength. To characterize the dynamical behavior of these wires, the authors have perfected machines to test materials with their original surface roughness without any prior machining of surfaces. Fatigue limits are discussed through mechanical and structural properties of the austenitic steels, with special attention given to cold working. Typical features of fracture, and particularly of the first cracks, are shown by means of scanning electron microscopy.