The iridium alloy DOP-26 was developed through the Radioisotope Power Systems Program in the Office of Nuclear Energy of the Department of Energy. It is used for clad vent set cups containing radioactive fuel in radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) heat sources which provide electric power for spacecraft. This report describes mechanical testing results for DOP-26. Specimens were given a vacuum recrystallization anneal of 1 hour at 1375 C and tested in tension in orientations parallel and perpendicular to the rolling direction of the sheet from which they were fabricated. The tests were performed at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 1090 C and strain rates ranging from 1 x 10(sup -3) to 50 s(sup -1). Room temperature testing was performed in air, while testing at elevated temperatures was performed in a vacuum better than 1 x 10(sup -4) Torr. The yield stress (YS) and the ultimate tensile stress (UTS) decreased with increasing temperature and increased with increasing strain rate. Between 600 and 1090 degrees C, the ductility showed a slight increase with increasing temperature. Within the scatter of the data, the ductility did not depend on the strain rate. The reduction in area (RA), on the other hand, decreased with increasing strain rate. The YS and UTS values did not differ significantly for the longitudinal and transverse specimens. The ductility and RA values of the transverse specimens were marginally lower than those of the longitudinal specimens.
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