Kermit
Member
If I recall my Properties of Materials class, steel does not fatigue unless it is stressed beyond a certain threshold. Aluminum has no fatigue threshold; it accumulates even small repetitive stresses. I have an aluminum bicycle that was quite stiff when new, but after 30000 miles it is as flexible as a noodle.
Plastics also degrade with age, even without repetitive stress or exposure. I have old (25-30 yr) items like flashlights and boxes and such that simply crack when I use them, even though they've been stored unused indoors for years. Plastic connectors and fittings in cars are exposed to serious heat and UV and tend to fail even without structural loads. Try unplugging a bunch of clips and onnectors in the engine bay of a 15 year old car and see how many stay intact.
Those 100 year old cars had no plastics to crack and no electrical connectors to fail. of course, their wooden frames may have rotted ;-)
So although Teslas wont fail due to burnt rod bearings or worn clutches or rusty chassis, the aluminum and plastics can still age ungracefully.
Plastics also degrade with age, even without repetitive stress or exposure. I have old (25-30 yr) items like flashlights and boxes and such that simply crack when I use them, even though they've been stored unused indoors for years. Plastic connectors and fittings in cars are exposed to serious heat and UV and tend to fail even without structural loads. Try unplugging a bunch of clips and onnectors in the engine bay of a 15 year old car and see how many stay intact.
Those 100 year old cars had no plastics to crack and no electrical connectors to fail. of course, their wooden frames may have rotted ;-)
So although Teslas wont fail due to burnt rod bearings or worn clutches or rusty chassis, the aluminum and plastics can still age ungracefully.