ABSTRACT
Fatigue is the response of a material to cyclic loading by the initiation and propagation of cracks. Fatigue has been estimated to account for up to 8090% of mechanical failures in engineering structures and components (Illston et al., 1979). It is, therefore, not surprising that a considerable amount of research has been carried out to investigate the initiation and propagation of cracks by fatigue. A summary of prior work on fatigue can be found in a comprehensive text by Suresh (1999). This chapter will, therefore, present only a general overview of the subject.
