In engineering, rupture of a material too weak to sustain the forces on it. A fracture of the workpiece during forming can result from flaws in the metal; these often consist of nonmetallic inclusions such as oxides or sulfides trapped in the metal during refining.
Laps are another type of flaw, in which part of a metal piece is inadvertently folded over on itself but the two sides of the fold are not completely welded together. Structural and machine parts subject to vibrations and other cyclic loading must be designed to avoid fatigue fracture. &Seealso; ductility, metallurgy, strength of materials, testing machine.
This is the complete article, containing 102 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
View More Summaries on Fracture mechanics
