The failure mechanism that caused this can be of many different kinds, and often multiple factors play a role at the same time.
Some types of mechanical failure mechanisms are: excessive deflection, buckling, ductile fracture, brittle fracture, impact, creep, relaxation, thermal shock, wear, corrosion,[1] stress corrosion cracking, and various types of fatigue.
Of critical importance is design geometry because stress concentrations can magnify the applied load locally to very high levels, and from which cracks usually grow.
The more complex the product or situation, the more necessary a good understanding of its failure cause is to ensuring its proper operation (or repair).
Materials can be degraded by their environment by corrosion processes, such as rusting in the case of iron and steel.