Which mechanical consequence would result from prolonged use of Roman ballista siege engines with improperly heat-treated torsion springs?

💡 Explanation

Prolonged use of ballistae with poorly heat-treated springs causes metal fatigue because cyclical stress leads to crack initiation and propagation. Therefore, catastrophic fatigue failure results, rather than range increase, frame deformation, or diminished accuracy which require different mechanical weaknesses and stress distributions.

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