This volume represents a selection of papers presented at the Third International Symposium on Fatigue Design, Fatigue Design 1998, held in Espoo, Finland, 26-29 May, 1998.One objective of this symposium series was to help bridge the gap that sometimes exists between researchers and engineers responsible for designing components against fatigue failure. The 21 selected papers provide an up-to-date survey of engineering practice and a preview of design methods that are advancing toward application.Reliability was selected as a key theme for FD''98. During the design of components and structures, it is not sufficient to combine mean material properties, average usage parameters, and pre-selected safety factors. The engineer must also consider potential scatter in material properties, different end users, manufacturing tolerances and uncertainties in fatigue damage models. Judgement must also be made about the consequences of potential failure and the required degree of reliability for the structure or component during its service life.Approaches to ensuring reliability may vary greatly depending on the structure being designed. Papers in this volume intentionally provide a multidisciplinary perspective on the issue. Authors represent the ground vehicle, heavy equipment, power generation, ship building and other industries. Identical solutions cannot be used in all cases because design methods must always provide a balance between accuracy and simplicity. The point of balance will shift depending on the type of input data available and the component being considered.
