Introduction to Fatigue Failure Analysis | Machine Design - Lecture 9A

If you’re just beginning to explore fatigue or want a deeper appreciation for how it became a critical field in mechanical design, this video is the perfect place to start. We dive into the historical context that gave rise to fatigue analysis, showing how the Industrial Revolution reshaped engineering—and exposed the limitations of traditional design approaches.

From there, we compare the major fatigue analysis methods used today, including stress-life, strain-life, and linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), highlighting when and why each is used.

We’ll cover:
✅ How engineering design changed after the Industrial Revolution
✅ Why fatigue failures became a major concern in railways and machinery
✅ Key differences between stress-life, strain-life, and LEFM approaches
✅ How these methods relate to real-world failures and modern design tools

By the end of this video, you’ll have a solid foundation in the origins and motivations behind fatigue analysis—critical for anyone studying failure mechanics or machine design.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
03:13 - Engineering design before vs. after the industrial revolution
15:10 - LEFM vs. Strain-life vs. Stress-life methods
23:38 - Wrap up

📷 Image Credits:
All images used are in the public domain or under appropriate Creative Commons licenses.

Steam train engine and men: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Hosiery workers, Minnesac Mills: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ph...

Road and dike improvement: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Spinners in spinning room: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

1870 printing press: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

At the farm – Pieter Hendrik Koekkoek: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...

Eggborough Power Station: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Edward D. Adams Station: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Don Quijote illustration by Ange François: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Archimedean screw turbine (animated): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Steel with hydrogen-induced cracks: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Bullet from AKM (animated): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Unnecessarily complicated gears (animated): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Washington Street bridge collapse (1913): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

East Palestine train derailment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Pa...

Modern rail infrastructure – Juerg Schmid, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

FAA historical perspective (public domain): https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

Tachometer: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

Cracked component (Cricca ext): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

📌 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell for more engineering tutorials! 🚀