Questions of chapter 2: Fatigue as a phenomenon in the material

2.1 The fatigue life is characterized by a crack initiation period, a crack growth period,
and final failure.
a: Which factors are significant for these three phases?
b: What is the most essential feature of the initiation period?
c: What is an important difference between the crack initiation and crack growth
period?
d: What is an important material characteristic in the crack growth period?
2.2 Discuss the significance of crystallographic aspects for crack initiation and crack
growth.

2.3 What is the significance of inclusions for crack initiation and crack growth?

2.4 Why do microcracks sometimes stop growing?

2.5 Give two different definitions of the fatigue limit Sf .

2.6 The number of fatigue crack nuclei on a fatigue fracture surface can be rather small (e.g.
just one), and it can be large.
a: Why can it be small? b: When may it be
large?
2.7 Various effects on the crack initiation period and the crack growth period can be
significantly different.
a: Explain why.
b: Indicate different effects for the two periods.
c: Which condition can have a similar effect for both periods?
2.8 Surface effects can have a large effect on the fatigue limit, and a relatively small effect
on the fatigue strength at low endurances (high-level fatigue). Explain why.

2.9 What is the difference between fatigue under cyclic tension and cyclic torsion?

2.10 The fracture surface of a fatigue failure is characterized by microscopic and

macroscopic features.
a: Which are the microscopic features? Explain why these features occur.
b: Same question for the macroscopic features.
2.11 If a failure in service can be caused by either fatigue, stress corrosion or static
overloading, which features should be checked to decide on the type of failure?

2.12 Which observations can be significant to answer the question whether a fatigue failure is
an incidental failure and not a symptomatic failure?

2.13 If a failure in service is due to fatigue:

a: Which observations may tell that a high fatigue load was applicable?
b: Which observations may indicate that a low fatigue load was applicable?
c: The failure in service produces two mating fracture surfaces.
Why should both surfaces be examined?