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Mechanical Engineering vocabulary · Mechanics and Materials

Fatigue

Meaning in mechanical engineering, with examples

/fəˈtiːɡ/nounCore term

In mechanical engineering, fatigue means: Gradual damage and cracking of a material caused by loads that are applied and removed many times, even when each load is below the material's static strength.

In Turkish: yorulma, malzeme yorulması

How it is used

A key term in machine design, especially for shafts, springs, welds and rotating parts. Engineers talk about fatigue life, fatigue strength, fatigue cracks and the S-N curve. A part 'fails in fatigue' and often shows typical beach marks on the fracture surface.

Example sentences

  1. The shaft broke due to fatigue, not overload; you can see the beach marks on the fracture surface.

  2. We need to check the fatigue life of the welds for ten million cycles.

Common collocations

  • fatigue life
  • fatigue strength
  • fatigue crack
  • fatigue failure
  • metal fatigue
  • stressThe internal force inside a material divided by the area it acts on. It shows how hard a part is being pulled, pushed, bent or twisted and is measured in MPa or psi.
  • failureThe state in which a part or machine can no longer do its job, for example because it has cracked, worn out, leaked or stopped working.
  • loadA force, weight or pressure that acts on a part or structure. Loads can be steady or changing and are the starting point of most strength calculations.
  • factor of safetyThe ratio between the load or stress a part can withstand and the load or stress it actually carries in use. A value of 2 means the part is twice as strong as needed.
  • tensile testA test in which a standard sample is pulled until it breaks, to measure properties such as yield strength, tensile strength and elongation.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Mechanics and Materials

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