Free Practice Quiz Question List

5 Material Failure and Reliability Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 5 Material Failure and Reliability, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions

True or false

1 point

A component has not failed unless it has broken into separate pieces. True or false?

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

Hard particles repeatedly cut or plow a softer surface. Which type of wear best describes this damage?

A
Adhesive wear
B
Abrasive wear
C
Fretting wear
D
Erosive wear

True or false

1 point

Creep is restricted to metals operating at elevated temperatures. True or false?

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

Which statement best explains how a component can fail by fatigue after many cycles even though its cyclic stress remains below yield strength?

A
Fatigue requires a single load above the material's yield strength.
B
Fatigue occurs only when a component is visibly corroded.
C
Repeated loading can cause fatigue failure even when each cycle's stress is below yield strength.
D
Fatigue is another name for time-dependent deformation under a sustained load.

Choose one

1 point

An engineer must choose an NDE method to inspect a component for a suspected flaw. Which approach is best supported?

A
Use the same NDE method for every material and flaw because all methods have equivalent detection capability.
B
Select an NDE method for the expected flaw and component geometry, recognizing that no method detects every flaw in every material.
C
Choose a method based only on how quickly it can be performed.
D
Avoid NDE whenever a component has a complex geometry.

Choose all

1 point

Select all factors identified as affecting fatigue behavior.

A
Surface condition
B
Mean stress
C
Paint color by itself
D
Material microstructure
E
The component's serial-number format

Written response

1 point

What failure mechanism can occur when a susceptible material experiences tensile stress in a particular environment?

Choose all

1 point

Select all measures that can help control corrosion in a component exposed to a corrosive environment.

A
Select materials suited to the environment.
B
Assume that a coating eliminates the need for maintenance or inspection.
C
Isolate dissimilar metals when needed.
D
Avoid crevices and water traps where appropriate.

Choose one

1 point

Which condition best explains when an inspection plan can reduce the risk of failure?

A
Inspection reduces risk whenever it is performed, regardless of what flaws the method can detect.
B
Inspection is effective only if every possible flaw is detectable.
C
Inspection reduces risk when the flaw of concern is detectable and the interval is short enough to permit action before failure.
D
Inspection intervals should be set without regard to damage progression.

Written response

1 point

In the linear-elastic model $K=Y\sigma\sqrt{\pi a}$ , let $Y=1$ , $\sigma=100\,\text{MPa}$ , and $a=0.01\,\text{m}$ . Calculate $K$ . Enter the value in MPa√m to the nearest 0.01; the allowed tolerance is ±0.01.

Open ended

1 point

A rotating steel shaft has fractured, and the crack appears to have started at a keyway under cyclic bending. Give a plausible failure mechanism and describe several contributing factors an engineer should investigate before choosing corrective action. Explain why simply replacing the shaft with a stronger alloy may be insufficient.

Choose one

1 point

Two clamped components undergo tiny repeated relative movements at their contacting surfaces. Which wear mechanism best describes the resulting surface damage?

A
Abrasive wear
B
Fretting wear
C
Erosive wear
D
Adhesive wear

Choose one

1 point

A metal component held under a sustained load gradually deforms during prolonged operation at elevated temperature. Which failure mechanism is most directly implicated?

A
Fatigue
B
Stress-corrosion cracking
C
Creep
D
Overload

True or false

1 point

A component can fail by fatigue after many loading cycles even if the stress in each cycle remains below the material's yield strength.

A
True
B
False

Written response

1 point

A component develops fatigue damage while experiencing repeated loading in a corrosive environment. What is this combined failure mechanism called?

Choose one

1 point

An inspection plan needs to check for a surface-breaking crack in a component made of a material suitable for liquid penetrant testing. Which method is the most directly suited to that task?

A
Liquid penetrant testing
B
Tensile testing
C
Creep testing
D
Hardness testing

Choose one

1 point

Which statement best defines the reliability of an engineering item?

A
The probability that an item has no manufacturing defects
B
The probability that an item never needs inspection
C
The probability that an item performs its required function for a stated time under stated conditions
D
The probability that every possible failure mechanism has been eliminated

Written response

1 point

A susceptible material cracks while exposed to a particular environment under tensile stress. What is this failure mechanism called?

Fill in the blank

1 point

A tensile specimen undergoes substantial permanent plastic deformation before it separates. Classify its fracture mode: .

Fill in the blank

1 point

A composite panel is struck and shows little visible surface damage, but inspection reveals separation between its layers. Name this damage mechanism: .