|
Fatigue
is a failure process exhibited under the application of a cyclic stress.
It is an important failure mechanism in engineering systems as they normally
experience fluctuating loads. Its importance increases as attempts are
made to decrease the mass of a structure, such as an aircraft or space
station.
Fatigue
failure tends to occur at applied cyclic loads that are about half of the
yield stress for the material. The behavior is statistical in nature and
dependent on component design and the environment in which it operates.
The process involves the initiation of cracks in the material and their
growth during the application of cyclic stress until a critical crack size
for fast fracture is reached, at which point the material fails in the
next fatigue cycle. |
|
