metal fatigue
metal fatigue — noun
1. The process by which metal becomes weaker and more likely to crack or break afte
The process by which metal becomes weaker and more likely to crack or break after being bent, twisted, or stressed many times over a long period.
After years of daily use, the bridge's steel cables showed signs of metal fatigue.
collocation: show signs of metal fatigue
Ravindra inspected the airplane wing for cracks caused by metal fatigue.
passive: caused by metal fatigue
Metal fatigue was the reason the old roller coaster track had to be replaced.
The engineers warned that metal fatigue had made the pipeline unsafe for further use.
Repeated bending of the metal rod eventually caused metal fatigue and a sudden break.
- structural fatigue
broader term; includes other construction materials such as concrete
- material degradation
more general; covers all types of wear and chemical change, not just stress-related
用法筆記
Common in engineering, aviation, and safety inspection contexts to describe long-term structural degradation. The noun is uncountable and often appears as the object of 'cause' or the subject of passive constructions such as 'was caused by metal fatigue'.