ABSTRACT
SUMMARY Although fatigue is a complicated phenomenon, special conditions in structural engineering create opportunities for simplification. Variations in material properties of steels and environmental conditions are usually of secondary importance owing to built-in stresses, discontinuities and stress gradients. Thus, the two most important factors affecting the fatigue life of a structure are geometry and stress range. Also, structures which are subject to fatigue loading need to be designed, fabricated, erected, inspected and maintained according to special criteria.
