Favorite Fractures of 2026

The Metallurgy & Failure Analysis Department at Applied Technical Services (ATS) in Marietta, GA examined hundreds of fractures in 2026. We will present our favorite fractures chosen from: (1) steel, stainless steel, Monel, aluminum alloys, nickel alloys, titanium alloys, and nonmetallic materials; (2) castings, forgings, wrought metal, powder metal, additive manufacturing, and injection molded products; and (3) fatigue, corrosion fatigue, stress corrosion cracking (SCC), environmental stress cracking (ESC), hydrogen embrittlement, liquid metal embrittlement, temper embrittlement/tempered martensite embrittlement, stress rupture, and ductile/brittle monotonic overload failure mechanisms. These fractures made our list of favorites because they are interesting, uncommon, and/or head-scratchers. As many of our favorite fractures will be presented as time permits.