Time-dependent fracture mechanics (Q2734597)

The book is devoted to the failure of cracked bodies, and its content is divided into three main logical parts. In the first part, the author presents a general practical treatment of the fracture mechanics in terms of relevant material properties and loading. The second and third parts describe the fundamentals of dynamic fracture mechanics and creep fracture mechanics in isotropic and homogeneous continua. An important issue in fracture mechanics, fatigue mechanics, is excluded, but some elements can be found in the book. The first two chapters present an up-to-date review of fracture analysis and its practical use. The basic ideas, as well as current estimation approaches, are given for the structural analysis of industrial components. Emphasis is placed on the ductile-to-brittle transition of steels. In chronological order, after measuring the toughness by ductility from tension tests of smooth specimens, the noxiousness of notch and loading was recognized, and Charpy testing was developed to screen metals under the consideration of fracture initiation. Here, the author gives a historical development of engineering methods, also called simplified methods, for assessing the risk of fracture of components. The next three chapters describe the dynamic fracture mechanics. The author investigates high-loading-rate characteristics with inertia effect based on the constitutive flow rules, under dynamic loading conditions. Micromechanisms of dynamic fracture by cleavage, ductile tearing and adiabatic shear specific to dynamic loading are reviewed, and the corresponding experimental procedures are described, together with the equations of continuum damage mechanics for ductile rupture. The fourth chapter presents the behaviour of a stationary crack in elastic continuum under stress-wave loading, and describes optical experimental methods to measure the stress intensity factor. In chapter five, the author states the dynamic propagation of a crack in elastic medium subjected to loading. The elastic singular field is described by a stress intensity factor depending on the crack velocity, and by spatial functions depending on the crack velocity. To adequately describe the strong transient propagation, the author employs the higher-order terms of the asymptotic expansion. The theory of the creep-crack initiation and propagation is the topic of the last two chapters, where the author describes the dislocation and point-defect motions responsible for the deformations, and examines the creep initiation and crack propagation in a creeping elastoplastic medium. On the whole, the monograph could be recommended as reference book to postgraduate students, scientists and engineers working in the field of structural design, nondestructive evaluation and safety assessment.