ABSTRACT
The gradual introduction of microcomponents in practical applications within microstructure technology has instigated an increasing demand for insight into the fundamental factors that determine the mechanical integrity of such elements, for instance, their long-term reliability or how to choose proper safety limits in design and use. Dynamic fatigue is a fairly common phenomenon in metallic materials, where it is attributed to dislocation slip in intersecting slip systems and to cross-slip. Closer investigation of the fracture surface normally reveals that the cracking has indeed initiated at a flaw somewhere in the interface, and then has rather abruptly veered into one of the bulk materials and, at some small distance from the interface, turned again to run parallel.
