Customer Reviews

Metal Fatigue in Engineering

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If there is a single book on *just* metal fatigue for your shelf, this is it. The treatment of material is rigorous without being too terse or long-winded. There's an enjoyable amount of real-world experience mixed in with the text: bits of highly relevant distilled information. Plus, there is data in the appendix that is difficult to find elsewhere (aluminum, etc).

There are a number of texts in this field. This one is by authors whose professional reputations are top notch. However, this book's strengths lie in their qualitative approach. It is a very good book for a short course, and introduction or overview, but for a graduate text I feel it falls short in that it is lacking in mathematics and too qualitative. That said, the illustrations of specific
types of fatigue are terrific. The thought process they use to think through a fatigue problem is very appropriate and a great approach to most problems. If you do forensics of fatigue
problems you want to create for yourself a catalog of failure modes photos and this shows you how to start. With great examples of a number of different types of failures.

Alternative texts for a more quantitative approach that I would
recommend, are Bannantine's and Comer's books for undergraduate
engineering students, or Norman Dowling's book for graduate students.

Still, I own the book and am glad I do. So I give it 3.5 stars.

This is an excellent textbook. It covers all of the basic aspects of metal fatigue and some topics that are left out of elementary texts; for instance, environmental effects, the fatigue of weldments and the statistical aspects of fatigue. The book begins with an excellent historical review of the subject, which contains capsule biographies of some of the most important contributors to the field. Both the stress and strain life approaches are covered, as are, crack nucleation and growth, the fatigue in notches, and variable amplitude loading. While the book is not primarily a source for fatigue data, it does contain some specific data. This book is not as detailed or comprehensive as Suresh's Fatigue of Materials, but it is, in my opinion, a much better choice as a textbook for use in a course (advanced undergraduate or graduate) on metal fatigue or as part of a course on the mechanical properties of materials. In fact, in my opinion it is currently the best choice as a textbook on the subject of fatigue.

Stephens tries to capture as much information in this book as needed for the practicing fatigue engineer. It's a great book to have on the shelf.

There are a number of texts in this field. This one is by authors whose professional reputations are top notch. However, this book's strengths lie in their qualitative approach. It is a very good book for a short course, and introduction or overview, but for a graduate text I feel it falls short in that it is lacking in mathematics and too qualitative. That said, the illustrations of specific
types of fatigue are terrific. The thought process they use to think through a fatigue problem is very appropriate and a great approach to most problems. If you do forensics of fatigue
problems you want to create for yourself a catalog of failure modes photos and this shows you how to start. With great examples of a number of different types of failures.

Alternative texts for a more quantitative approach that I would
recommend, are Bannantine's and Comer's books for undergraduate
engineering students, or Norman Dowling's book for graduate students.

Still, I own the book and am glad I do. So I give it 3.5 stars.

This is by far the best text on the topic of fatigue I've ever read. You cannot go wrong with this book. Not only do they do a fantastic job on the technical side, they also provide a beautifully prepared historical background to the topic that puts everything in perspective. Upon finishing the book the reader understands just how dynamic this topic is and has a thirst to know more. The author(s) do a superb job of explaining all aspects of fatigue including a chapter on LEFM. Each chapter has a "Do's and Don'ts of Design" section which is very informative. Each time I read one of those sections I would come across things that I had learned through many year's of experience (the hard way, if you will). These confirmations helped to solidify my opinion of the book. I should point out, the Appendix in the text on material properties is reason enough to purchase the book. The contents are very difficult to find elsewhere. If you have an interest in the topic or your career requires knowledge on the subject, this book is a must have.

Very good book. It tackles all the main aspects of modern Fatigue Analysis. The atentive reader, following the text with a paper and pencil besdies, will extract valuable ideas for procedures. I am looking forward for books written in the same style.