Under sufficient tensile stress, MIE failure occurs instantaneously at temperatures just above melting point.
[1] In comparison, LMIE dominant mechanism is bulk liquid flow that penetrates at the tips of cracks.
In addition, a decrease in tensile ductility over a temperature range is indicative of metal-induced embrittlement.
[5] Catastrophic failure of a material via SMIE occurs as a result of the propagation of cracks to a critical point.
Still, embrittlement mechanisms can be introduced during fabrication, coatings, testing or during service of the material components.