Understanding Fatigue Behaviour in Plastics and Elastomers
Predict performance. Prevent failure. Design with confidence.
Fatigue is one of the most common - and least visible - causes of failure in plastic and rubber components. Even when materials pass static tests, repeated cyclic loading can lead to gradual damage, unexpected failure, and costly in-service issues.This expert-written guide explains how and why fatigue affects polymers, and how engineers can use the right test data to predict service life, optimise designs, and reduce failure risk. Drawing on Smithers’ deep materials expertise, it translates fatigue theory into real-world design insight.
What you’ll learn
- Why fatigue failures occur in plastics and elastomers - and why they’re hard to predict
- How fatigue testing works, including the role of S-N curves and accelerated methods
- The key factors that influence fatigue life, from material formulation to environment
- How fatigue data supports material selection, design optimisation, and reliability assurance
- Why expert interpretation of test results is critical to avoiding unexpected failures
Whether you’re developing new components, validating materials, or investigating durability concerns, this guide will help you make confident, evidence-based decisions.
Designing for long-term durability often requires understanding both cyclic and sustained loading. Explore related durability testing insights: Understanding Creep Behaviour in Plastics and Elastomers
