Cyclic fatigue resistance of ProTaper Next nickel-titanium rotary files

Fatigue occurs when materials rupture under repeated or fluctuating loads, even at stress levels far below their static breaking strength. It typically results in brittle failure, even for ductile materials. It is a critical consideration in designing machines and structural components subjected to repetitive or varying loads. The nature of these loadings can range from fluctuating loads like unbalanced pump impellers causing vibrations to repeatedly bending a thin steel rod wire back and forth...

When a solid cylinder rolls steadily on a rigid surface, the normal force applied by the surface on the cylinder is perpendicular to the tangent at the contact point. However, since no materials are entirely rigid, the surface's reaction to the cylinder involves a range of normal pressures.
For instance, imagine a hard cylinder rolling on a comparatively soft surface. The cylinder's weight compresses the surface beneath it. As the cylinder moves, the material in front of it slows down due to...