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Advances in Fatigue and Fracture of Materials: Mechanisms, Modelling and...
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Advances in Fatigue and Fracture of Materials: Mechanisms, Modelling and Emerging Experimental Methods

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Mechanics of Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2026 | Viewed by 2144

Editor

Dr. Diogo Montalvão

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ADDISONIC Research Cluster, Department of Design and Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, Poole House, Talbot Campus, Poole BH12 5BB, UK
Interests: very high cycle fatigue (VHCF); ultrasonic fatigue testing (UFT); advanced materials characterisation; finite element analysis (FEA); structural dynamics & vibration; experimental mechanics; in-situ diagnostics; reliability & life prediction; data-driven modelling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fatigue and fracture are common failure mechanisms across engineering structures, yet significant challenges persist in predicting material behaviour under increasingly complex loads and environmental and manufacturing conditions. This Special Issue provides a comprehensive platform addressing both fundamental understanding and cutting-edge developments in fatigue damage and fracture mechanics.

We welcome contributions spanning the full research spectrum: from mechanisms at the micro- and nanoscale to advanced structural-level applications. Comprehensive review papers that synthesise the state of the art, original research introducing novel experimental or computational methods, and studies addressing critical open questions in the field are of particular interest. Relevant topics include metallic alloys, composites, polymers, additively manufactured materials, and emerging engineered systems.

Key areas of focus include fatigue behaviour from low-cycle to very high-cycle fatigue regimes, ultrasonic fatigue testing, in situ diagnostics, multiscale modelling, data-driven approaches, microstructure–property relationships, environmental and corrosion-assisted fatigue, residual stress effects, hybrid interfaces, and reliability assessments under modern manufacturing processes. We particularly encourage submissions that bridge fundamental science with practical engineering challenges or address critical gaps limiting current predictive capabilities.

This Special Issue aims to serve as both an authoritative reference and a catalyst for future innovation in fatigue and fracture research.

Dr. Diogo Montalvão
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fatigue damage
  • fracture mechanics
  • low-cycle fatigue
  • very high-cycle fatigue
  • structural integrity
  • additive manufacturing
  • microstructure–property relationships
  • crack initiation and propagation
  • multiscale modelling
  • reliability and durability

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 24911 KB  
Article
Theoretical and Experimental Investigations of High-Entropy (TiVNbTa)2AlC MAX Phase
by Lexing Che, Mingdong Bao, Zhihua Sun and Yingwen Cao
Materials 2026, 19(12), 2593; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19122593 - 16 Jun 2026
Viewed by 196
Abstract
High-entropy MAX phases (TiVNbTa)2AlC have attracted increasing attention due to their potential advantages in structural stability, damage tolerance, and mechanical reliability under complex service environments. This work studied the crystal and electrical structures with the elastic properties, the synthesis reactions and [...] Read more.
High-entropy MAX phases (TiVNbTa)2AlC have attracted increasing attention due to their potential advantages in structural stability, damage tolerance, and mechanical reliability under complex service environments. This work studied the crystal and electrical structures with the elastic properties, the synthesis reactions and further wear resistance of HE-MAX (TiVNbTa)2AlC theoretically and experimentally. The charge transfer between both M-C atoms and M-Al atoms turned more intense, which correspondingly strengthened the M-C and M-Al bonds, respectively. Because of the dope on M-sites, (TiVNbTa)2AlC exhibited larger fracture toughness KIC and a lower brittle index M, which suggested lower brittleness, better crack extension resistance, and higher damage tolerance than Ti2AlC. In this work, high-entropy (TiVNbTa)2AlC MAX phase ceramics were successfully synthesized by a powder metallurgy route combined with pressureless sintering and spark plasma sintering (SPS). The effects of raw material composition and sintering temperature on phase evolution, microstructure formation, mechanical properties, and tribological behavior were systematically investigated. The results show that a highly pure (TiVNbTa)2AlC phase with a phase fraction of 96.8% could be obtained at a molar ratio of M:Al:C = 2:1.2:0.8 and a sintering temperature of 1550 °C. Phase evolution analysis indicated that the reaction process followed the sequence of intermetallic compound (IMC) formation → carbide formation → MAX phase formation. Severe lattice distortion induced by the multi-principal-element solid solution significantly enhanced the hardness of the material, which was markedly higher than that of conventional ternary MAX phases. Owing to its higher hardness and more homogeneous solid-solution structure, HE-MAX (TiVNbTa)2AlC could inhibit the formation of surface microcracks and reduce the driving force for crack propagation to some extent. Therefore, the lower wear rate not only reflected improved tribological performance but also demonstrated the beneficial role of high-entropy design in enhancing resistance to surface damage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fatigue and Fracture of Materials: Mechanisms, Modelling and Emerging Experimental Methods)
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21 pages, 2557 KB  
Article
Fatigue Life Prediction of 25CrMo4 Alloy Steel Based on Interpretable Methods
by Ze-Cheng Li and Xiao-Min Chen
Materials 2026, 19(12), 2544; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19122544 - 12 Jun 2026
Viewed by 262
Abstract
The fatigue failure of railway axles is directly associated with the operational safety of trains. As 25CrMo4 steel is commonly employed for high-speed train axles, precise evaluation of its fatigue life is essential for transportation reliability. This study compared six machine learning models [...] Read more.
The fatigue failure of railway axles is directly associated with the operational safety of trains. As 25CrMo4 steel is commonly employed for high-speed train axles, precise evaluation of its fatigue life is essential for transportation reliability. This study compared six machine learning models following hyperparameter optimization via a differential evolution algorithm. The DE-optimized Gaussian process regression (DE-GPR) model exhibited superior predictive performance, achieving a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.8020 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.1250 on the most significant outer test fold. Furthermore, an interpretable analysis of the model utilized a combination of SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and partial dependence plots (PDP) to elucidate feature importance. The results indicate that the applied stress level is the predominant feature affecting fatigue life predictions and that it slightly interacts with surface residual stress and full width at half maximum to influence the predicted fatigue life. This study can provide valuable insights into the fatigue life assessment and process optimization of 25CrMo4 steel components. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fatigue and Fracture of Materials: Mechanisms, Modelling and Emerging Experimental Methods)
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25 pages, 10885 KB  
Article
Determination of Fracture Mechanism and Mode II Fracture Toughness of Red Sandstone Subjected to Compressive-Shear Loading
by Chang-Hong Lei, Huai-Zhong Liu, Hong-Qiang Xie, Ming-Li Xiao, Gan Feng and Zhao-Qiang Zheng
Materials 2026, 19(6), 1236; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19061236 - 20 Mar 2026
Viewed by 499
Abstract
Mode II fracture toughness is an important material parameter of rocks, but accurate measurement of this parameter is still a challenge in rock fracture mechanics. This study aims to modify the mode II fracture toughness of red sandstone measured through shear box testing [...] Read more.
Mode II fracture toughness is an important material parameter of rocks, but accurate measurement of this parameter is still a challenge in rock fracture mechanics. This study aims to modify the mode II fracture toughness of red sandstone measured through shear box testing by emphasizing the critical role of crack initiation angle. Experimental tests combining fracture trajectory scanning and digital image correlation reveal distinct fracture mechanisms of red sandstone under varying loading angles: tensile spalling dominates low angles, and shear fractures emerge at medium angles, while tensile fracture initiates from the rock bridge center at high angles. Although shear fracture initiates from the notch tip, its initiation angle deviates from the initial crack plane, invalidating traditional mode II fracture toughness determination methods. A modified Mohr–Coulomb criterion incorporating fracture angle and Mode I stress intensity factor is proposed to correct the significant errors of traditional methods, and this study establishes a refined framework for mode II fracture toughness determination under compression–shear conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fatigue and Fracture of Materials: Mechanisms, Modelling and Emerging Experimental Methods)
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20 pages, 9616 KB  
Article
Effect of Residual Plastic Strain on the Fatigue Failure Mechanism and Service Life Prediction of Dented X80 Pipelines
by Peng Ren, Yafang Fu, Jifan He, Naixian Li, Li Zhu, Youkai Gu, Youcai Xiang and Bin Jia
Materials 2026, 19(5), 967; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19050967 - 3 Mar 2026
Viewed by 675
Abstract
In the field of oil and gas transportation, X80 pipelines are susceptible to localized plastic deformation caused by mechanical impact or geological activity. This leads to the formation of dents and the introduction of pre-strain, thereby affecting the structural integrity and fatigue life. [...] Read more.
In the field of oil and gas transportation, X80 pipelines are susceptible to localized plastic deformation caused by mechanical impact or geological activity. This leads to the formation of dents and the introduction of pre-strain, thereby affecting the structural integrity and fatigue life. This study systematically investigates the influence mechanism of pre-strain on the high-cycle fatigue performance of dented regions in X80 steel. Fatigue tests conducted across pre-strain levels of 1%, 2%, and 3% revealed that the induced plastic strain significantly degrades fatigue performance. Under constant stress amplitude, fatigue life decreases markedly with increasing pre-strain, a trend driven by the accumulation of micro-damage. Furthermore, a parametric P-S-N curve model that incorporates both pre-plastic strain and reliability was developed, providing a basis for quantitatively assessing the impact of pre-strain. By combining finite element analysis with the Smith-Watson-Topper (SWT) critical plane method, it was predicted that fatigue cracks in unconstrained dent primarily initiate at the dent periphery, with the critical plane orientation perpendicular to the circumferential direction, which aligns well with field observations. Parametric analysis indicates that the maximum operating pressure is the dominant factor affecting the fatigue life of the dented pipelines. This research elucidates the material-level fatigue failure characteristics of dented X80 pipelines and provides theoretical insights for life prediction and engineering protection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fatigue and Fracture of Materials: Mechanisms, Modelling and Emerging Experimental Methods)
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