Section IV—Specimens and Their Preparation

Fatigue tests to determine the life of components, machines and structures are generally made on the actual parts or scaled models, or on test specimens designed to accommodate a specific type of loading. Fatigue tests to obtain S-Ndiagrams for materials are made with test specimens of relatively simple design for each product; for example, bar, sheet, tubing, and wire. Tubing and wire are usually tested with specimens of the same cross-section as the original product.