This article describes the test techniques that are available for monitoring crack initiation and crack growth and for obtaining information on fatigue damage in test specimens. These techniques include optical methods, the compliance method, electric potential measurement, and gel electrode imaging methods. The article discusses the magnetic techniques that are primarily used as inspection techniques for detecting fatigue cracks in structural components. It details the principles and operation procedures of the liquid penetrant methods, positron annihilation techniques, acoustic emission techniques, ultrasonic methods, eddy current techniques, infrared techniques, exoelectron methods, and gamma radiography. The article explains the microscopy methods used to determine fatigue crack initiation and propagation. These include electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and scanning acoustic microscopy. The article also reviews the X-ray diffraction technique used for determining the compositional changes, strain changes, and residual stress evaluation during the fatigue process.

This article describes the fracture mechanics in fatigue. It discusses the fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) testing that consists of several steps, beginning with selecting the specimen size, geometry, and crack length measurement technique. The two major aspects of FCGR test analysis are to ensure suitability of the test data and to calculate growth rates from the data. The article presents an analysis of the crack growth data. Optical, compliance, and electric potential difference are the most common laboratory techniques, and the article reviews their merits and limitations. Forced-displacement, forced-vibration, rotational-bending, resonance, and servomechanical systems for various loading conditions are also discussed.