Issue 14

M. N. James e

t alii, Frattura e

d Integrità Strut

turale, 14 (2010

) 5-16; DOI: 10

.3221/IGF-ESIS.

14.01

T in

he inter materi

face be al perfo

tween m rmance

etallu

rgy and

mecha

nics

M Sch Dep mja M Sch Es A B bu En ho het for the cir cre wh ass me K E fra

. N. James ool of Marine artment of M mes@plymou . Newby ool of Marine kom Research STRACT . Th t which is a gineering c mogeneous erogeneous m of a genu differing cumstances ep, environ ere welding ociated with tallurgical fa YWORDS . C cture; enviro

Science & E echanical Eng th.ac.uk

ngineering, U ineering, Nel

niversity of Ply son Mandela

mouth, Plym Metropolitan

outh (UK) University, P

ort Elizabeth

(South Africa )

Science & E and Innovati

ngineering, U on Centre, Ro

niversity of Ply sherville, Joha

mouth, Plym nnesburg, Sou

outh (UK) th Africa

n poorly und ance of m a bridge b displaceme d behaviour surface, or terface has ining perfo ce is domin e. The pape eering prac

misinterpre ther materi macrosco e microsco ge can take tual one wh importance racteristics ( gue or fract n the proble rate the role

is paper co determinin omponents and gener and often n ine interfac philosophie where envir mentally-ass is used to j cracking a ctors in me ontinuum nment. ally, the educ ing the beha racked bodie en very powe r engineering isotropic co lexity is also crease in rigo f a crack. d hydrostat racture are f N

nsiders an im g factor in m and struct ally continu on-continu e between m s of desig onmental in isted cracki oin compon nd uses case chanical per mechanics;

portant top any aspect ures must, um aspects um reality o aterial and n have to fluences ha ng, or corro ents, or wh study exam formance o non-continu

ic, and one s of the ser of necessi of applied f material s environme be merged ve a key ro sion), where ere tribology ples drawn f materials. um materia

that is ofte vice perform ty, provide load and tructure an nt, e.g. at a . The in le in determ performan plays a rol from engin

erstood or etals (and o etween the nt, and th . This brid can be a vir particular rmance cha ated by fati r focuses o tice to illust

ted, als). pic, pic, the ere in e.g. ure, ms of

ls; metallur

gical param

eters; case

studies; fatig

ue;

I N

TRODUCTIO

bod ass hom situ An exa the def pla H

istoric analys of unc

ation of mec viour of stru s subject to e rful in advan artefacts. ntinuum, an introduced a ur necessitat Three dime ic (which re undamentall

hanical engin ctures and m xternal load cing our abil The key a d considerab s the applied ed by a mov nsional stres sist plastic d y controlled

eers has had aterials. In p or deformati ity to calcula ssumptions le complexi loading or d e from unidi s states can eformation by inhomog

a strong fo articular, so on fields) an te internal st in solid me ty is introd eformation rectional loa be resolved and promote eneous, non

cus on contin lid mechanic d fracture me resses and str chanics are uced into an field become ding to triaxi into devia fracture) s -isotropic a

uum mechan s (dealing wi chanics (deal ains and to m usually that alysis when s more realis al constraint toric (which tress compo nd non-cont

ics as a tool th the behav ing with crac ake realistic the body more com tic; consider, which occur promote sh nents. As b inuum mate

for iour ked life is a plex for s in ear oth rials

ies) have be essments fo ogeneous, ations arise. alytical comp mple, the in presence o ormation) an sticity and f

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