fracture, In engineering, rupture of a material too weak to sustain the forces on it. A fracture of the workpiece during forming can result from flaws in the metal; these often consist of nonmetallic inclusions such as oxides or sulfides trapped in the metal during refining. Laps are another type of flaw, in which part of a metal piece is inadvertently folded over on itself but the two sides of the fold are not completely welded together. Structural and machine parts subject to vibrations and other cyclic loading must be designed to avoid fatigue fracture. See also ductility, metallurgy, strength of materials, testing machine.