Specimens of commercial purity polycrystalline aluminum were cyclically str
ained to final fracture. During testing the temperature response was monito
red at five locations along the gage length of the specimens as a function
of applied cycles. For much of the Lest, the rates of temperature increase
at different locations on the gage section were relatively uniform. However
, before final fracture, the rate of temperature rise at one or two of the
monitored locations became greater than those observed in the rest of the g
age section. Beach marks and striations were observed on the failure surfac
es of the specimens. These fractographic features were used to estimate the
number of cycles spent growing a macrocrack under cyclic loading. It was f
ound that the beginning of localized temperature rises corresponded to the
beginning of fatigue crack growth which produced striations and beach marks
. The thermomechanical data derived from specimen temperature responses wer
e also used to estimate the location of the crack in the gage length of the
specimen. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.