AN INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING FRACTURE MECHANICS

In the conventional design of engineering structures the associated failures are numerous, some of them are described in this paper. Most of these are brittle fracture and fatigue failures in structures. The Fracture Mechanics provides engineers means of designing against fracture and controlling the fatigue failures in structures. Hence the fundamental understanding of Fracture Mechanics is very essential. The importance of stress-intensity factor is highlighted. The theory of Fracture Mechanics can be used to analyze the behaviour of a structure throughout its entire life. The Fracture Mechanics Design is discussed briefly. Fatigue crack initiation and propagation are also discussed