Fracture: An Advanced Treatise, Volume VII: Fracture of Nonmetals and Composites examines the fracture of nonmetals and composites. The text of this treatise has been designed so that the reader may acquire pertinent information by self-study. Most chapters have been written in detail and, insofar as possible, have been made to fill a significant gap by also providing, when appropriate, the details of complicated and involved mathematical derivations in appendixes. Whenever possible, only a level of college calculus on the part of the reader has been assumed. Numerical examples showing the engineering applications have been included; also, photographs and drawings have been greatly utilized. The book opens with a review of the fracture behavior of glass. This is followed by separate chapters on the fracture of polymeric glasses; mechanics of the fracture process in rock, with emphasis on the engineering viewpoint; the fracture behavior of simple, single-phase ceramics; and empirical information about, and our level of understanding of, fracture in polycrystalline ceramics. Subsequent chapters deal with the fracture of elastomers; molecular mechanical aspects of the isothermal rupture of elastomers; failure mechanics of fibrous composites; fracture mechanics of composites; fracture and healing of compact bones; and fracture of two-phase alloys; and fracture of lake ice and sea ice.

Fracture of Metals is part of a multivolume treatise that brings together the fundamentals for critical evaluation of the different theories and experimental findings on brittle fracture. These results, together with their design implications, should be made available to professional engineers, students, and researchers in industrial organizations, educational and research institutions, and various governmental agencies. Seven major areas are covered in this treatise on fracture. They are: (1) microscopic and macroscopic fundamentals of fracture; (2) mathematical fundamentals of fracture; (3) engineering fundamentals of fracture and environmental effects; (4) engineering fracture design; (5) fracture design of structures; (6) fracture of metals; and (7) fracture of nonmetals and composites. The present volume focuses on the fracture of metals. The book opens with chapter on the influence of alloying elements on fracture behavior in metallic systems of the three common crystal structures: face-centered cubic, body-centered cubic, and hexagonal close packed. Separate chapters follow on the principal microstructural factors which seem to be important for fracture toughness; the nature of the fracture processes occurring in high-strength materials; and the state of knowledge on fracture toughness of structural steels. Subsequent chapters deal with the strength and toughness of hot-rolled, ferrite-pearlite steels; fracture behavior of aluminum and its alloys; and fracture phenomena associated with electrical effects.