ABSTRACT
With an increasing pressure for higher performance, cheaper products, and lighter components, manufacturers are using materials closer to their limits of performance, with subsequent higher probability of failure. For example, using a stronger material allows the designer to reduce the cross-sectional area and possibly the weight of a component, but will also increase the tendency for buckling as the slenderness of the component increases. Stronger materials are also likely to exhibit lower toughness and ductility with an increasing tendency for catastrophic brittle fracture.
