metal fatigue
Repeated strain weakness
Metal fatigue is the weakening of a material caused by repeated stress or strain over time.
A metal component that easily withstands a single load may crack or fail after thousands of cycles of the same force.
The term appears in engineering contexts but also figuratively for gradual exhaustion: After years of criticism, metal fatigue set in and she resigned.
- hairline cracksExtremely fine surface breaks
- cyclicRepeating in sequence
- stress fractureMicroscopic bone crack from overuse
- tensile strengthResistance to pulling force
- structural failureLoss of load-bearing capacity
ductility · microfractures · elasticity · heat treatment · safety testing · hardness · airplane · annealing · strain · corrosion resistance · tension · alloy · wing · stress · rupture · brittle · structural · catastrophic
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- material mechanicsstress-strain, tensile strength, elasticity, strain, ductility
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