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.

A Practical Approach to Fracture Mechanics provides a concise overview on the fundamental concepts of fracture mechanics, discussing linear elastic fracture mechanics, fracture toughness, ductile fracture, slow crack propagation, structural integrity, and more. The book outlines analytical and experimental methods for determining the fracture resistance of mechanical and structural components, also demonstrating the use of fracture mechanics in failure analysis, reinforcement of cracked structures, and remaining life estimation. The characteristics of crack propagation induced by fatigue, stress-corrosion, creep, and absorbed hydrogen are also discussed. The book concludes with a chapter on the structural integrity analysis of cracked components alongside a real integrity assessment. This book will be especially useful for students in mechanical, civil, industrial, metallurgical, aeronautical and chemical engineering, and for professional engineers looking for a refresher on core principles. - Concisely outlines the underlying fundamentals of fracture mechanics, making physical concepts clear and simple and providing easily-understood applied examples - Includes solved problems of the most common calculations, along with step-by-step procedures to perform widely-used methods in fracture mechanics - Demonstrates how to determine stress intensity factors and fracture toughness, estimate crack growth rate, calculate failure load, and other methods and techniques

The rapid advances in the nuclear and aerospace technologies in the past two decades compounded with the increasing demands for high performance, energy-efficient power plant components and engines have made reliable thermal stress analysis a critical factor in the design and operation of such equipment. Recently, and as experienced by the author, the need for sophis ticated analyses has been extended to the energy resource industry such as in-situ coal gasification and in-situ oil recovery from oil sands and shales. The analyses in the above applications are of a multidisciplinary nature, and some involve the additional complexity of multiphase and phase change phenomena. These extremely complicated factors preclude the use of classical methods, and numerical techniques such as the finite element method appear to be the most viable alternative solution. The development of this technique so far appears to have concentrated in two extremes; one being overly concerned with the accuracy of results and tending to place all effort in the implementation of special purpose element concepts and computational algorithms, the other being for commercial purposes with the ability of solving a wide range of engineering problems. However, to be versatile, users require substantial training and experience in order to use these codes effectively. Above all, no provision for any modifi cation of these codes by users is possible, as all these codes are proprietary and access to the code is limited only to the owners.

A comprehensive survey is presented of current methods of fracture toughness testing that are based on linear elastic fracture mechanics. General principles are discussed in relation to the basic two-dimensional crack stress field model and in relation to real three-dimensional specimens. The designs and necessary dimensions of specimens for mixed mode and opening mode (plane strain) crack toughness measurement are considered in detail. Methods of test instrumentation and procedure are described. Expressions for the calculation of crack toughness values are given for the common types of specimens.