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fatigue
fatigue An aluminum crank arm fractured from fatigue. The dark area is the region of slow crack growth under repeated load; the light area is the region where the final sudden fracture occurred.

fatigue

materials failure
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fatigue, in engineering, manifestation of progressive fracture in a solid under cyclic loading as in the case of a metal strip that ruptures after repeated bending back and forth. Fatigue fracture begins with one or several cracks on the surface that spread inward in the course of repeated application of forces until complete rupture suddenly occurs when the small unaffected portion is too weak to sustain the load. Structural and machine parts subject to vibrations and other cyclic loading must be designed to avoid fatigue fracture.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.