Fatigue (material)

In materials science, fatigue is the weakening of a material caused by cyclic loading that results in
progressive and localized structural damage and the growth of cracks. The nominal maximum stress
values that cause such damage may be much less than the strength of the material, typically quoted as
the ultimate tensile stress limit, or the yield stress limit.

Fatigue occurs when a material is subjected to repeated loading and unloading. If the loads are above a
certain threshold, microscopic cracks will begin to initiate at stress concentrations such as holes,
persistent slip bands (PSBs), composites interfaces or grain boundaries in metals.[1]

Once a crack has initiated, each loading cycle will grow the crack a small amount, typically producing
striations on some parts of the fracture surface. The crack will continue to grow until it reaches a critical
size which occurs when the stress intensity factor of the crack exceeds the fracture toughness of the
material producing rapid propagation and typically complete fracture of the structure.