This book contains the fully peer-reviewed papers presented at the Third Engineering Foundation Conference on Small Fatigue Cracks, held under the chairmanship of K.S. Ravichandran and Y. Murakami during December 6-11, 1998, at the Turtle Bay Hilton, Oahu, Hawaii. This book presents a state-of-the-art description of the mechanics, mechanisms and applications of small fatigue cracks by most of the world's leading experts in this field. Topics ranging from the mechanisms of crack initiation, small crack behavior in metallic, intermetallic, ceramic and composite materials, experimental measurement, mechanistic and theoretical models, to the role of small cracks in fretting fatigue and the application of small crack results to the aging aircraft and high-cycle fatigue problems, are covered.

As we continue to push the boundaries of space exploration and medical research to enhance quality of life, development of key materials to surmount the inherent challenges is of fundamental importance. Titanium is an excellent candidate in this regard because of its specific stiffness, high strength to weight ratio and excellent corrosion resistance. However, improved wear resistance has been imperative in almost all titanium-based applications. Titanium boride is a useful material with very high hardness that increases the wear resistance of titanium while also allowing it to maintain its superior inherent properties. Development of a titanium boride coating on titanium could potentially result in an optimum material that combines the best of ceramic and metallic properties. A double - layer boride (TiB2 + TiB) coating would further enhance these advantages. This work was undertaken with the objective of developing such a superior material in an inexpensive manner.