gold can be brittle, due to porosity exist in the plating layer.  as  
the time goes, the barrier metal diffused into the gold via porosity  
and causes volume change = oxidation.  you got fractured gold.... if  
you done the proper plating, it should not happen.  with or without  
compressive stress.  my 1.7 cents.
           joyce (you need dynamic sims image to see the porosity...  
or gel method to detect porosity - not many people do that  
nowadays... ).
On Dec 1, 2014, at 7:56 AM, Wayne Thayer wrote:

> Hi Victor-
>
> I'm unaware of the gold independently becoming more brittle with  
> time while
> under stress. Time usually causes de-stressing.
>
> BUT, if there's Sn in the vicinity, that darn SnAu is EXTREMELY  
> brittle! So
> if you've got Sn diffusing into the gold, I'd expect it to become more
> brittle in time.
>
> Wayne
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Victor Hernandez
> Sent: Monday, December 01, 2014 7:47 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [TN] Hard gold under compression
>
> Fellow TechNetters:
>
>    Can hard gold, 50 micro inches, become brittle under a  
> compression load?
>
> Victor,
>
>
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