A coupon geometry that reliably fails in the gauge area of the coupon during fatigue testing. The propensity to fail at the gauge area is imparted by using a bow-tie-shaped coupon coupled with similarly shaped tabs. The test coupons have a bow-tie-shaped profile with tapered sides that converge as they extend from the opposing ends of the coupon to the gauge area, forming a pair of trapezoidal portions (one the mirror image of the other) connected by the gauge area. These trapezoidal portions of the test coupon include the regions where similarly trapezoidal tabs will be adhered to the front and back of the coupon. The test coupon has a minimum width in the gauge area and a constant thickness, and a height of the gauge area is no greater than 3% of a height of the test coupon.