title: Fatigue rupture of wallaby tail tendons.
abstract: Wallaby tail tendons fail after repeated application of stresses much lower than would be needed to break them in a single pull. We show that this a fatigue phenomenon, distinct from the creep rupture that occurs after prolonged application of a constant stress. The two phenomena are disctinguished by experiments in which tensile stress is cycled at different frequencies, ranging from 1 to 50 Hz.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pure and Applied Biology, The University, Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: X T
authors.initials: XT
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Ker
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Alexander
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007614:Macropodidae; D012421:Rupture; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013623:Tail; D013708:Tendon Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013710:Tendons / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013718:Tensile Strength