The First African InterQuadrennial ICF Conference “AIQ-ICF2008” on Damage and Fracture Mechanics – Failure Analysis of Engineering Materials and Structures”, Algiers, Algeria, June 1–5, 2008 is the first in the series of InterQuadrennial Conferences on Fracture to be held in the continent of Africa. During the conference, African researchers have shown that they merit a strong reputation in international circles and continue to make substantial contributions to the field of fracture mechanics. As in most countries, the research effort in Africa is und- taken at the industrial, academic, private sector and governmental levels, and covers the whole spectrum of fracture and fatigue. The AIQ-ICF2008 has brought together researchers and engineers to review and discuss advances in the development of methods and approaches on Damage and Fracture Mechanics. By bringing together the leading international experts in the field, AIQ-ICF promotes technology transfer and provides a forum for industry and researchers of the host nation to present their accomplishments and to develop new ideas at the highest level. International Conferences have an important role to play in the technology transfer process, especially in terms of the relationships to be established between the participants and the informal exchange of ideas that this ICF offers.

Selected, peer reviewed papers from the 9th International Conference on Fracture and Damage Mechanics, FDM 2010, 20-22 September, 2009, Nagasaki, Japan

Recent developments in engineering and technology have brought about serious and enlarged demands for reliability, safety and economy in wide range of fields such as aeronautics, nuclear engineering, civil and structural engineering, automotive and production industry. This, in turn, has caused more interest in continuum damage mechanics and its engineering applications. This book aims to give a concise overview of the current state of damage mechanics, and then to show the fascinating possibility of this promising branch of mechanics, and to provide researchers, engineers and graduate students with an intelligible and self-contained textbook. The book consists of two parts and an appendix. Part I is concerned with the foundation of continuum damage mechanics. Basic concepts of material damage and the mechanical representation of damage state of various kinds are described in Chapters 1 and 2. In Chapters 3-5, irreversible thermodynamics, thermodynamic constitutive theory and its application to the modeling of the constitutive and the evolution equations of damaged materials are descried as a systematic basis for the subsequent development throughout the book. Part II describes the application of the fundamental theories developed in Part I to typical damage and fracture problems encountered in various fields of the current engineering. Important engineering aspects of elastic-plastic or ductile damage, their damage mechanics modeling and their further refinement are first discussed in Chapter 6. Chapters 7 and 8 are concerned with the modeling of fatigue, creep, creep-fatigue and their engineering application. Damage mechanics modeling of complicated crack closure behavior in elastic-brittle and composite materials are discussed in Chapters 9 and 10. In Chapter 11, applicability of the local approach to fracture by means of damage mechanics and finite element method, and the ensuing mathematical and numerical problems are briefly discussed. A proper understanding of the subject matter requires knowledge of tensor algebra and tensor calculus. At the end of this book, therefore, the foundations of tensor analysis are presented in the Appendix, especially for readers with insufficient mathematical background, but with keen interest in this exciting field of mechanics.

This textbook offers readers an introduction to fracture mechanics, equipping them to grasp the basic ideas of the presented approaches to modeling in applied mechanics In the first part, the book reviews and expands on the classical theory of elastic and elasto-plastic material behavior. A solid understanding of these two topics is the essential prerequisite to advancing to damage and fracture mechanics. Thus, the second part of this course provides an introduction to the treatment of damage and fractures in the context of applied mechanics Wherever possible, the one-dimensional case is first introduced and then generalized in a following step. This departs somewhat from the more classical approach, where first the most general case is derived and then simplified to special cases. In general, the required mathematics background is kept to a minimum Tutorials are included at the end of each chapter, presenting the major steps for the solution and offering valuable tips and tricks. The supplementary problems featured in the book

When asked to start teaching a course on engineering fracture mechanics, I realized that a concise textbook, giving a general oversight of the field, did not exist. The explanation is undoubtedly that the subject is still in a stage of early development, and that the methodologies have still a very limited applicability. It is not possible to give rules for general application of fracture mechanics concepts. Yet our comprehension of cracking and fracture beha viour of materials and structures is steadily increasing. Further developments may be expected in the not too distant future, enabling useful prediction of fracture safety and fracture characteristics on the basis of advanced fracture mechanics procedures. The user of such advanced procedures m\lst have a general understanding of the elementary concepts, which are provided by this volume. Emphasis was placed on the practical application of fracture mechanics, but it was aimed to treat the subject in a way that may interest both metallurgists and engineers. For the latter, some general knowledge of fracture mechanisms and fracture criteria is indispensable for an apprecia tion of the limita tions of fracture mechanics. Therefore a general discussion is provided on fracture mechanisms, fracture criteria, and other metal lurgical aspects, without going into much detail. Numerous references are provided to enable a more detailed study of these subjects which are still in a stage of speculative treatment.

Advanced Fracture Mechanics and Structural Integrity is organized to cover quantitative descriptions of crack growth and fracture phenomena. The mechanics of fracture are explained, emphasizing elastic-plastic and time-dependent fracture mechanics. Applications are presented, using examples from power generation, aerospace, marine, and chemical industries, with focus on predicting the remaining life of structural components and advanced testing metods for structural materials. Numerous examples and end-of-chapter problems are provided, along with references to encourage further study.The book is written for use in an advanced graduate course on fracture mechanics or structural integrity.

- self-contained and well illustrated - complete and comprehensive derivation of mechanical/mathematical results with enphasis on issues of practical importance - combines classical subjects of fracture mechanics with modern topics such as microheterogeneous materials, piezoelectric materials, thin films, damage - mechanically and mathematically clear and complete derivations of results