Fracture Mechanics Applications

Fracture mechanics deals with the cracking behavior of materials, and cracking defines the limit state for many components of engineering systems. Fracture mechanics principles can help us design more robust components to ensure safer airplanes, space shuttles, ships, cranes, buildings, bridges, and mechanical systems. Written by researchers and experts of the field, this book examines recent progress in fracture mechanics applications. Chapters cover such topics as rupture theory, the J-integral, knitted fabric-reinforced polymer composites, and artificial neural networks to detect structural damage, among others. This volume is designed for graduate students, researchers, and practicing engineers.

It is difficult to do justice to fracture mechanics in a textbook, for the subject encompasses so many disciplines. A general survey of the field would serve no purpose other than give a collection of references. The present book by Professor E. E. Gdoutos is refreshing because it does not fall into the esoteric tradition of outlining equations and results. Basic ideas and underlying principles are clearly explained as to how they are used in application. The presentations are concise and each topic can be understood by advanced undergraduates in material science and continuum mechanics. The book is highly recommended not only as a text in fracture mechanics but also as a reference to those interested in the general aspects of failure analysis. In addition to providing an in-depth review of the analytical methods for evaluating the fundamental quantities used in linear elastic fracture mechanics, various criteria are discussed re:O. ecting their limitations and applications. Par ticular emphases are given to predicting crack initiation, subcritical growth and the onset of rapid fracture from a single criterion. Those models in which it is assumed that the crack extends from tip to tip rely on the specific surface energy concept. The differences in the global and energy states before and after crack extension were associated with the energy required to create a unit area of crack surface. Applications were limited by the requirement of self-similar crack growth.

New developments in the applications of fracture mechanics to engineering problems have taken place in the last years. Composite materials have extensively been used in engineering problems. Quasi-brittle materials including concrete, cement pastes, rock, soil, etc. all benefit from these developments. Layered materials and especially thin film/substrate systems are becoming important in small volume systems used in micro and nanoelectromechancial systems (MEMS and NEMS). Nanostructured materials are being introduced in our every day life. In all these problems fracture mechanics plays a major role for the prediction of failure and safe design of materials and structures. These new challenges motivated the author to proceed with the second edition of the book. The second edition of the book contains four new chapters in addition to the ten chapters of the first edition. The fourteen chapters of the book cover the basic principles and traditional applications, as well as the latest developments of fracture mechanics as applied to problems of composite materials, thin films, nanoindentation and cementitious materials. Thus the book provides an introductory coverage of the traditional and contemporary applications of fracture mechanics in problems of utmost technological importance. With the addition of the four new chapters the book presents a comprehensive treatment of fracture mechanics. It includes the basic principles and traditional applications as well as the new frontiers of research of fracture mechanics during the last three decades in topics of contemporary importance, like composites, thin films, nanoindentation and cementitious materials. The book contains fifty example problems and more than two hundred unsolved problems. A "Solutions Manual" is available upon request for course instructors from the author.

This book contains 15 fully peer-reviewed Invited Papers which were presented at the 13th Biennial European Conference on Fracture and is a companion to the CD-ROM http://www.elsevier.com/locate/isbn/008043701xProceedings. The organisers of the ECF 13 opted from the very beginning for an application-orientated conference, and consequently, this book contributes to the understanding of fracture phenomena, and disseminates fracture concepts and their application to the solution of engineering problems to practitioners in a wide range of fields. The fields covered in this book can be broadly classified into: elastic-plastic fracture mechanics, fracture dynamics, fatigue and interactive processes, failure, structural integrity, coatings and materials, with applications to the following industrial sectors: transport, aerospace engineering, civil engineering, pipelines and automotive engineering.

Emphasizes applications of fracture mechanics to prevent fracture and fatigue failures in structures, rather than the theoretical aspects of fracture mechanics. The concepts of driving force and resistance force are used to differentiate between the mathematical side and the materials side. Case studies of actual failures are new to the third edition. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book fulfills the need for a short, modern, introductory text on linear elastic fracture mechanics and its engineering applications. Suitable for use by engineering undergraduates, and other newcomers to the subject, it:- • Explains the main ideas underlying present day linear elastic fracture mechanics and how these have been developed. • Shows how the ideas can be used to carry out calculations answering the question 'Does this crack matter?' from the viewpoint of an engineering designer. • Provides an understanding of the basis of standard methods and software employed to carry out calculations. • Includes additional, more advanced material, where this will increase understanding of the sometimes formidable mathematics involved, and of the various simplifications and approximations used in practical applications. The author includes all the material central to an undergraduate introductory course and ends each chapter with an overview of the material covered to aid accessibility. Familiarity with the mechanical properties of metallic materials, and with the linear elastic stress analysis of uncracked bodies is assumed.

With its combination of practicality, readability, and rigor that is characteristic of any truly authoritative reference and text, Fracture Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications quickly established itself as the most comprehensive guide to fracture mechanics available. It has been adopted by more than 100 universities and embraced by thousands of professional engineers worldwide. Now in its third edition, the book continues to raise the bar in both scope and coverage. It encompasses theory and applications, linear and nonlinear fracture mechanics, solid mechanics, and materials science with a unified, balanced, and in-depth approach. Reflecting the many advances made in the decade since the previous edition came about, this indispensable Third Edition now includes: A new chapter on environmental cracking Expanded coverage of weight functions New material on toughness test methods New problems at the end of the book New material on the failure assessment diagram (FAD) method Expanded and updated coverage of crack closure and variable-amplitude fatigue Updated solutions manual In addition to these enhancements, Fracture Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications, Third Edition also includes detailed mathematical derivations in appendices at the end of applicable chapters; recent developments in laboratory testing, application to structures, and computational methods; coverage of micromechanisms of fracture; and more than 400 illustrations. This reference continues to be a necessity on the desk of anyone involved with fracture mechanics.

Fracture mechanics has established itself as an important discipline of growing interest to those working to assess the safety, reliability and service life of engineering structures and materials. In order to calculate the loading situation at cracks and defects, nowadays numerical techniques like finite element method (FEM) have become indispensable tools for a broad range of applications. The present monograph provides an introduction to the essential concepts of fracture mechanics, its main goal being to procure the special techniques for FEM analysis of crack problems, which have to date only been mastered by experts. All kinds of static, dynamic and fatigue fracture problems are treated in two- and three-dimensional elastic and plastic structural components. The usage of the various solution techniques is demonstrated by means of sample problems selected from practical engineering case studies. The primary target group includes graduate students, researchers in academia and engineers in practice.