Strength and hardness increase with only slight impairments of ductility or impact resistance, and the alloy does not undergo a ductile-to-brittle transition even when cooled to the temperature of liquid hydrogen. This is in marked contrast to many ferrous materials which are brittle at low temperatures despite their increased strength.
In US Navy tear tests at temperatures as low as -320°F, Money alloy 400 shows excellent ductility and tough fracture characteristics over the temperature range with maximum load increasing considerably with a decrease in temperature.
Impact tests conducted on hot-finished plates at liquid-hydrogen and liquid-helium temperatures show very little drop in impact resistance. Tests were conducted on samples representing both longitudinal and transverse orientation in the plate, and on welded samples. No evidence of brittle fractures was shown and then welded specimens all fractured in the weld.
