Intended for engineers from a variety of disciplies that deal with structural materials, this text describes the current state of knowledge of how fractures in materials form and propagate, leading to failure.

Inhalt
1 Microscopic aspects of fracture: Cohesive stress.- 2 Linear elastic behaviour of flaws: Purely elastic treatment.- 2.1 The notch: stress and strain concentrations.- 2.2 The crack: stress intensity factors.- 2.3 The three-dimensional crack.- 3 Linear elastic treatment of flaws: Plasticity correction.- 3.1 Model of small scale yielding for a notch.- 3.2 Models of small scale yielding for a crack.- 3.3 Implications of these models in fracture.- 4 Linear elastic treatment of fracture: The risk of brittle fracture.- 4.1 The toughness.- 4.2 The flaw.- 4.3 The mechanical loading.- 4.4 Example of application: Pressure vessels.- 5 Microscopic aspect of fracture: Cleavage and ductile rupture.- 5.1 Background of Dislocation Theory.- 5.2 Experimental modes of investigation.- 5.3 Cleavage fracture.- 5.4 Intergranular fracture.- 5.5 Ductile fracture.- 5.6 Shear fracture.- 5.7 The ductile-brittle transition with smooth and notched specimens.- 6 Plastic treatment of discontinuities: Fully plastic treatment and large deformation correction.- 6.1 Rigid-perfectly plastic material: The limit load.- 6.2 Strain hardening plastic material: The contour integral.- 6.3 The three-dimensional problem.- 6.4 Crack extension.- 6.5 Using the J integral in fatigue analysis.- 7 Plastic treatment of discontinuities: Elastic-plastic treatment.- 7.1 General description of stress and strain fields.- 7.2 The small-scale yielding and theQfamily of fields.- 7.3 Small Scale Yielding and mixed modes.- 7.4 Finite-width crack bodies.- 7.5 The loading parameters.- 7.6 The three-dimensional problem.- 7.7 The quasi-static growth.- 7.8 Implication of these models for fracture.- 8 Elastoplastic treatment of discontinuities: The risk of fracture.- 8.1 Toughness: Relationship between microscopic and macroscopic aspects.- 8.2 Structural applications.- Appendices.- Guide for Further Reading and Bibliography.- Answers to Selected Problems.