Smithers provides fatigue testing services to help manufacturers understand how polymer materials and components perform under cyclic loading. Our experts work with polymer composites, plastics, rubbers, and advanced polymer systems to generate reliable fatigue data that supports material selection, design optimisation, and service-life prediction.
From early development through to validation and failure investigation, Smithers partners with clients to help them reduce risk, prevent unexpected in-service failures, and deliver durable, high-performance products.
Fatigue testing provides the insight needed to:
Fatigue test data can be used to:
Key capability highlights include:
From early development through to validation and failure investigation, Smithers partners with clients to help them reduce risk, prevent unexpected in-service failures, and deliver durable, high-performance products.
Why Fatigue Testing Matters
Fatigue is one of the most common causes of failure in polymer-based components. Even when materials perform well in static tests, repeated cyclic loading can lead to gradual damage and sudden failure over time.Fatigue testing provides the insight needed to:
- Understand long-term durability under realistic loading conditions
- Define safe design limits and operating envelopes
- Compare materials for cyclic or repeat-load applications
- Reduce the risk of costly or performance-related failures in service
How Smithers Supports Fatigue Testing Programmes
Smithers works closely with development, design, and reliability teams to create fatigue testing programmes tailored to their individual products and real-world service conditions. Testing strategies can be adapted to reflect loading mode, temperature, frequency, and environmental exposure.Fatigue test data can be used to:
- Generate S–N (Wöhler) curves for design and analysis
- Support material benchmarking and selection
- Inform CAE and design optimisation
- Validate component durability and reliability
- Support lifetime and warranty assurance programmes
Fatigue Testing Capabilities
Smithers offers a comprehensive range of fatigue and durability testing methods for polymer materials and products. Testing programmes may include tensile, flexural, compression, and high-deflection fatigue, along with specialist rubber durability methods such as mandrel fatigue and cut growth testing.
Capabilities include:
- Tensile, flexural, compression, and high-deflection fatigue testing
- Cut growth resistance, compression-related durability (including permanent set and heat build-up), and dynamic property assessment under cyclic loading
- Specialist durability methods including Monsanto FTF, Ross (mandrel fatigue), DeMattia, and BF Goodrich systems
- Testing can be performed under controlled temperature and loading conditions to reflect realistic service environments and application requirements.
Advanced Fatigue Characterisation Capability
Smithers offers advanced fatigue characterisation for polymer materials, supporting detailed durability assessment under controlled loading and temperature conditions.Key capability highlights include:
- Low-frequency fatigue testing (typically below 3 Hz) to minimise specimen heating
- Temperature-controlled testing from sub-ambient conditions up to 250°C
- Tensile fatigue programmes designed to generate S–N curves up to 1 million cycles
- Continuous monitoring of load, temperature, and cycles to failure
- Test specimens moulded or machined, with geometries developed to minimise buckling where required
Materials and Applications
Smithers supports fatigue testing across a wide range of polymer-based materials, including:- Thermoplastics and elastomers
- Polymer composites and reinforced systems
- Rubber compounds and finished rubber products
Contact Smithers
If you would like to discuss a fatigue testing requirement or explore how Smithers can support your development or validation programme, our specialists are ready to help.- Abrasion Properties Testing
- Adhesion Testing
- Brittleness Testing
- Compressive Properties
- Crack Growth Testing
- Creep Testing
- Crystallization Properties
- Electrical Property Testing
- Polymer Density Testing
- Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) Analysis
- DMA Testing - Dynamic Mechanical Analysis
- Fatigue Testing of Plastics, Rubbers, and Polymers
- Finite Element Analysis Data (FEA)
- Flexural Properties Testing
- Frictional Properties
- Hardness Properties
- Heat Buildup Testing
- Impact Testing
- Low Temperature Properties Testing
- Moisture Content Analysis
- Optical and Color Properties - Polymer Appearance
- Puncture Resistance Testing
- Resilience Testing
- Small Batch Rubber Mixing
- Stress Relaxation Testing
- Tear Resistance
- Tensile Testing - Polymer Tensile Properties
- Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)
- Torsional Testing
- Volume Swell Testing
