TY - JOUR A1 - Zerbst, Uwe A1 - Madia, Mauro A1 - Vormwald, M. A1 - Beier, T. T1 - Fatigue strength and fracture mechanics - A general perspective JF - Engineering fracture mechanics N2 - Common fracture mechanics based fatigue considerations are usually limited to the residual lifetime determination of so-called long cracks. The extension of this concept to the total lifetime, as in the S-N curve approach, requires an adequate description of short crack propagation which cannot be based on the Delta K concept, and it must consider the crack closure phenomenon as well as its gradual build-up at the short crack stage. Further, it has to provide a meaningful definition of initial crack dimensions and a solution for the multiple crack problem at stress levels higher than the fatigue limit as it is specific for some configurations such as weldments. This paper aims at a discussion of all these points and offers possible solutions which are illustrated by examples taken from the German IBESS project on fracture mechanics based determination of the fatigue strength of weldments, the results of which will be discussed in more detail in this Special issue. KW - Fatigue strength KW - Endurance limit KW - Fracture mechanics KW - Short crack propagation KW - Multiple cracking KW - Weldments PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2017.04.030 SN - 0013-7944 SN - 1873-7315 VL - 198 SP - 2 EP - 23 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-46862 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -