Fracture of Metals: An Advanced Treatise

Fracture of Metals is part of a multivolume treatise that brings together the fundamentals for critical evaluation of the different theories and experimental findings on brittle fracture. These results, together with their design implications, should be made available to professional engineers, students, and researchers in industrial organizations, educational and research institutions, and various governmental agencies. Seven major areas are covered in this treatise on fracture. They are: (1) microscopic and macroscopic fundamentals of fracture; (2) mathematical fundamentals of fracture; (3) engineering fundamentals of fracture and environmental effects; (4) engineering fracture design; (5) fracture design of structures; (6) fracture of metals; and (7) fracture of nonmetals and composites. The present volume focuses on the fracture of metals. The book opens with chapter on the influence of alloying elements on fracture behavior in metallic systems of the three common crystal structures: face-centered cubic, body-centered cubic, and hexagonal close packed. Separate chapters follow on the principal microstructural factors which seem to be important for fracture toughness; the nature of the fracture processes occurring in high-strength materials; and the state of knowledge on fracture toughness of structural steels. Subsequent chapters deal with the strength and toughness of hot-rolled, ferrite-pearlite steels; fracture behavior of aluminum and its alloys; and fracture phenomena associated with electrical effects.