Contents

1.0

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................ 2

2.0

TYPES OF FAILURES IN MATERIALS...............................................................3

2.1

Ductile Fracture......................................................................................... 3

2.2

Brittle Fracture.......................................................................................... 4

2.3 Fatigue Fracture............................................................................................ 4

3.0

HOW FATIGUE IS INITIATED IN TERMS OF PHYSICAL BEHAVIOUR..................5

4.0

HOW FATIGUE IS INITIATED IN TERMS OF MICROSTRUCTURES.....................8

5.0

HOW TO PREVENT FATIGUE FAILURE............................................................9

6.0

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION......................................................................11

7.0

BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................ 12

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Materials when tested and conducted in the laboratory usually wont reach their rated
theoretical strength. Therefore, the performance of the material in service is not same as it is
expected to be from the material; thus, the design of a component normally sits on the
engineer to minimize the possibility of failure. However, the level of performance of
components in service is subjected to several factors. Factors which include inherent
properties of materials, load or stress system, maintenance and environment. Failure in
engineering component can be a result due to design deficiencies, poor selection of
materials, manufacturing defects, exceeding design limits and overloading, inadequate
maintenance etc. Therefore, engineers should always be proactive by anticipating and
planning for possible failure prevention in advance preparation [1].
Microscopic material failure is defined in terms of crack propagation and initiation. Such
methodologies are useful for gaining insight in the cracking of specimens and simple
structures under well-defined global load distributions. Microscopic failure considers the
initiation and propagation of a crack. Failure criteria in this case are related to microscopic
fracture. Some of the most popular failure models in this area are the micromechanical
failure

models,

which

combine

the

advantages

of

continuum

mechanics and

classical fracture mechanics [2].

2.0 TYPES OF FAILURES IN MATERIALS

Three types of major failures likely to be encountered by materials in service are categorized
below:
1. Ductile Fracture
2. Brittle Fracture
3. Fatigue Fracture

2.1 Ductile Fracture

In the case of ductile fracture, the material undergoes an extensive plastic deformation which
occurs before fracture. Loads applied above the permissible loading allowed for the structure
is associated with ductile fractures. This type of fracture occurs due to error in design,
incorrect selection of materials, improper manufacturing technique and/or handling [1]. The
Figure 2.1.1 below shows an example of a ductile fracture.

Figure 2.1. 1: Ductile Fracture

The dimples can become elongated by a lateral shearing force, or if the crack is in the
opening (tearing) mode. The fracture modes (dimples, cleavage, or intergranular fracture)
may be seen on the fracture surface and it is possible all three modes will be present of a
given fracture face.

2.2 Brittle Fracture

It is defined by the process of rapid crack propagation with low energy release and does not
undergo significant plastic deformation. Brittle materials experience little to no plastic
deformation before finally fracturing. The fracture may have a bright granular appearance.
The fractures are generally of the flat type and chevron patterns may be present. Materials
imperfection, sharp corner or notches in the component, fatigue crack etc. Brittle fracture
displays either cleavage (transgranular) or intergranular fracture. This depends upon
whether the grain boundaries are stronger or weaker than the grains. This type of fracture is
associated with non-metals such as glass, concrete and thermosetting plastics. In metals,
brittle fracture occurs mainly when BCC and HCP crystals are present. Figure 2.2.1 below
shows an example of a brittle fracture.

Figure 2.2. 1: Example of a brittle fracture

2.3 Fatigue Fracture

In context with material science, fatigue is defined as the exhaustion and weakening of a
material which is caused by cyclic loading or repeatedly applied loads. Microscopic cracks
will begin to form at the centre of the stress concentration such as the surface, persistent slip
bands and grain interfaces, if it is subjected to loads above a certain limit [3].

3.0 HOW FATIGUE IS INITIATED IN TERMS OF PHYSICAL

BEHAVIOUR
Fatigue occurs from repeated applied loading that are well below the ultimate tensile stress,
or even the yield stress of the material. The fatigue life of a component can be expressed as
the number of loading cycles required to initiate a fatigue crack and to propagate the crack
to critical size. Fatigue failure occurs in three stages which consist of:1. crack initiation
2. slow, stable crack growth
3. rapid fracture.

For fatigue cracks to initiate, three basic factors are necessary. First, the loading pattern
must contain minimum and maximum peak values with large enough variation or fluctuation.
The peak values may be in tension or compression and may change over time but the
reverse loading cycle must be sufficiently great for fatigue crack initiation. The initiation of
the crack is due to the nucleation of tiny voids during the fatigue process [4]. Secondly, the
peak stress levels must be of sufficiently high value. If the peak stresses are too low, no
crack initiation will occur. Thirdly, the material must experience a sufficiently large number of
cycles of the applied stress. The number of cycles required to initiate and grow a crack is
largely dependent on the first to factors.
In addition to these three basic factors, there are a host of other variables, such as stress
concentration, corrosion, temperature, overload, metallurgical structure, and residual
stresses which can affect the propensity for fatigue. Since fatigue cracks generally initiate at
a surface, the surface condition of the component being loaded will have an effect on its
fatigue life. Surface roughness is vital because it is directly related to the level and number of
stress concentrations on the surface. The higher the stress concentration the more likely a
crack is to nucleate. Smooth surfaces increase the time to nucleation. Notches, scratches,
and other stress risers decrease fatigue life. Surface residual stress will also have a
significant effect on fatigue life. Compressive residual stresses from machining, cold
working, heat treating will oppose a tensile load and thus lower the amplitude of cyclic
loading.

The Figure 3.1 shows several types of loading that could initiate a fatigue crack. The upper
left figure shows sinusoidal loading going from a tensile stress to a compressive stress. For
this type of stress cycle the maximum and minimum stresses are equal. Tensile stress is
considered positive, and compressive stress is negative. The figure in the upper right shows
sinusoidal loading with the minimum and maximum stresses both in the tensile realm. Cyclic
compression loading can also cause fatigue. The lower figure shows variable-amplitude
loading, which might be experienced by a bridge or airplane wing or any other component
that experiences changing loading patterns. In variable-amplitude loading, only those cycles
exceeding some peak threshold will contribute to fatigue cracking.

Figure 3. 1
Fatigue tests generally focus on the nominal stress required to cause fatigue failure in a
number of cycles. This test results in data tabulated as a plot of stress (S) against the
number of cycles to failure (N), which is known as an S-N curve. A log scale is almost always
used for N. The procedure is to test the first specimen at a high peak stress where failure is
expected in a fairly short number of cycles. The test stress is decreased for each succeeding
specimen until one or two specimens do not fail in the specified numbers of cycles, which is
usually at least 107cycles. The highest stress at which a runout (non-failure) occurs is taken
as the fatigue threshold. Not all materials have a fatigue threshold (most nonferrous metallic

alloys do not) and for these materials the test is usually terminated after about 10 8 or
5x108 cycles [5]. Figure 3.2 shows an example of a stress over cycle graph.

Figure 3. 2
It can be interpreted that the higher stress the specimen is subjected to, the fewer number
cycles it can withstand before approaching fatigue failure.

4.0 HOW FATIGUE IS INITIATED IN TERMS OF

MICROSTRUCTURES
Dislocation is a main influence in the fatigue crack initiation phase. In the first stage,
dislocations accumulate near surface stress concentrations and form structures called
persistent slip bands (PSB) after a large number of loading cycles. PSBs are areas that rise
above (extrusion) or fall below (intrusion) the surface of the component due to movement of
material along slip planes. This leaves tiny steps in the surface that serve as stress risers
where tiny cracks can initiate. These tiny crack (called microcracks) nucleate along planes of
high shear stress which is often 45o to the loading direction.
In the following stage of fatigue, the tiny microcracks formed initially join together and begin
to propagate through the material in a direction that is perpendicular to the maximum tensile
stress. Eventually, the growth of one or a few crack of the larger cracks will dominate over
the rest of the cracks. With continued cyclic loading, the growth of the dominate crack or
cracks will continue until the remaining uncracked section of the component can no longer
support the load. At this point, the fracture toughness is exceeded and the remaining crosssection of the material experiences rapid fracture. This rapid overload fracture is the third
stage of fatigue failure [6]. The Figure 4.1 below shows the above mentioned process.

Figure 4. 1

5.0 HOW TO PREVENT FATIGUE FAILURE

Fatigue failure of a structure literally means the fracture of the material applied rendering it
useless to be used causing harm and danger to users. Thus it is important that measures
are undertaken to prevent such disasters. Choosing a suitable material for a certain
application would be a way to start in the design phase of a particular structure. Next up is
during the manufacturing phase of the structure. Measures are to be undertaken to ensured
that the materials subjected to machining processes such as stamping, punching and so on
to not have sharp surface tears that might occur resulting from the mentioned machining
processes.
Another method to reduce the likelihood of fatigue failure is to opt for shot peening. Shot
peening involves the bombardment of a metal part by millions of tiny (typically .007 inch to .
023 inch diameter) steel spheres, each of which slightly indents the surface upon impact
(Figure 5.1). Sometimes, the peening media may be glass, conditioned cut wire or even
ceramic beads. Under each indentation, a hemisphere is formed that tries to push the
indentation back out to its original shape (Figure 5.2). This is called cold working the
surface. The resulting condition is a surface in compression, one that resists initial crack
formation. The amount of compressive strain developed is quite high, typically up to 60% of
the ultimate tensile strength of the metal. This very high magnitude of compressive strain
must be overcome by the applied load before a fatigue crack can start at the surface,
thereby greatly enhancing the component's ability to withstand high stress loading.

Figure 5. 1

Figure 5. 2

Many common manufacturing processes used to make metal parts can dramatically lower
the fatigue strength of the part because they leave the surface in tension; a fact that is often
not considered in the design process. Engineers tend to assume that if a part is
dimensionally correct, and the material is to specification, all is as it should be.
Grinding, machining and welding can all leave the surface of the part in tension, a seedbed
for metal fatigue cracks. Hardening and plating can leave a hard, brittle surface, and can
damage or weaken surface grain boundaries.
In studies of stress vs. number of cycles to metal failure, data generated for different types
of grinding operations, from "coarse grinding" to "fine grinding" to "coarse grinding with shot
peening" indicate dramatic changes in fatigue strength in the table below [7].

Process

Fatigue Strength

Coarse Grinding

45000 psi

Fine Grinding

60000 psi

Coarse Grinding with Shot Peening

80000 psi
Table 5.1

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6.0 DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION

Failure on material is a common problem encounter in the industries. Measures were taken
before the manufacturing process by choosing the right material that suits the function as
well as able to have long lifespan that may. This is important as it avoid endangering the
society which uses these materials. However choosing the suitable material alone does not
ensure to prolong the life span of the material. One of the common failures is fatigue failure
which result from the repetitive loading on the material despite the load is below the yield
strength. The cyclic loading causes crack initiation on the material followed by the crack
propagation. When ample amount of stress concentration and intensity occur at the crack ,
the failure of the material occur. The failure is permanent where it can no longer turn to its
original form. The fatigue failure can be reduce by strengthening mechanism such as work
hardening and precipitation hardening. These activities help to increase the strength of the
material.

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7.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1 Md Abdul, Salit, Mohd Sapuan Maleque, "Mechanical Failure of Materials," in
] Materials Selection and Design.: Springer-Verlag Singapura, 2013, ch. 2, pp.
17-38.
[2 Steglich D., Brocks W. Besson J., "Modelling of plain strain ductile rupture,"
] International Journal of Plasticity, no. 19, 2003.
[3 C. Laird W.H. Kim, "Crack nucleation and state I propagation in high strain
] fatigue-II," in Acta Metallurgica., 1978, pp. 789-799.
[4 H.G. F. Wilsdorf R.L. Lyles, "Microcrack nucleation and fracture in silver
] crystals," in Acta metall., 1975, ch. 23, pp. 269-277.
[5 NDT Resource Center. [Online]. https://www.nde] ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Materials/Mechanical/Fatigue.h
tm
[6 NDT Resource Center. [Online]. https://www.nde] ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Materials/Mechanical/Fatigue.h
tm
[7 Sonnax. [Online]. http://www.sonnax.com/articles/104-What-is-Metal-Fatigue] and-How-Can-it-be-Prevented-

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