Question

What is meant by fatigue?

(a) The tendency of a metal to fracture under static loading

(b) The tendency of a metal to fracture under repeated cyclic loading

(c) The tendency of a metal to fracture under non-repeating cyclic loading

(d) The tendency of a metal to fracture after heavy deformation

This question was addressed to me during an interview for a job.

My question is taken from Eight Forms topic in section Eight Forms of Corrosion of Corrosion Engineering

Answer 1

Right option is (b) The tendency of a metal to fracture under repeated cyclic loading

Easiest explanation: Fatigue is defined as the tendency of a metal to fracture under repeated cyclic loading. Bridges, machines will usually fail due to fatigue. It fails the metals even below the yield stress of that metal due to repeated cyclic loading.