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Failure Mechanisms
Anelastic Materials

· For anelastic materials such as polymers, the application of a periodic stress can cause failure due to local heating as well as fatigue damage.
· The anelastic work done per unit volume per cycle is given by: 

· The failure due to cyclic thermal softening (top) and true fatigue (bottom) is illustrated for PMMA fatigue samples.
From: Hertzberg, "Deformation & Fracture Mechanics of Engineering Materials," Wiley (1976)