This book provides a systematic and standardized approach based on the authors’ over 30 years of research experience with weight function methods, as well as the relevant literature. Fracture mechanics has become an indispensable tool for the design and safe operation of damage-tolerant structures in many important technical areas. The stress intensity factor—the characterizing parameter of the crack tip field—is the foundation of fracture mechanics analysis. The weight function method is a powerful technique for determining stress intensity factors and crack opening displacements for complex load conditions, with remarkable computational efficiency and high accuracy. The book presents the theoretical background of the weight function methods, together with a wealth of analytical weight functions and stress intensity factors for two- and three-dimensional crack geometries; many of these have been incorporated into national, international standards and industrial codes of practice. The accuracy of the results is rigorously verified, and various sample applications are provided. Accordingly, the book offers an ideal reference source for graduate students, researchers, and engineers whose work involves fracture and fatigue of materials and structures, who need not only stress intensity factors themselves but also efficient and reliable tools for obtaining them.

Fracture mechanics is an indispensible tool in the design and safe operation of damage tolerant structures. One of the essential elements in fracture mechanics based analysis is the stress intensity factor. This book provides a powerful theoretical background to the weight function method in fracture mechanics and numerous stress intensity factors. Part I gives a theoretical background and overview of the weight function method. Part II provides further details of the weight functions for various geometries and a large number of stress intensity factor solutions. Part II deals with the determination of crack opening displacements, Dugdale model solutions and crack opening areas.

In this book the authors describe methods for the calculation of weight functions. In the first part they discuss the accuracy and convergence behaviour of methods for one- and two-dimensional cracks, while in the second part they provide solutions for cracks subjected to mode-I and mode-II loading.

With its combination of practicality, readability, and rigor that is characteristic of any truly authoritative reference and text, Fracture Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications quickly established itself as the most comprehensive guide to fracture mechanics available. It has been adopted by more than 100 universities and embraced by thousands of professional engineers worldwide. Now in its third edition, the book continues to raise the bar in both scope and coverage. It encompasses theory and applications, linear and nonlinear fracture mechanics, solid mechanics, and materials science with a unified, balanced, and in-depth approach. Reflecting the many advances made in the decade since the previous edition came about, this indispensable Third Edition now includes: A new chapter on environmental cracking Expanded coverage of weight functions New material on toughness test methods New problems at the end of the book New material on the failure assessment diagram (FAD) method Expanded and updated coverage of crack closure and variable-amplitude fatigue Updated solutions manual In addition to these enhancements, Fracture Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications, Third Edition also includes detailed mathematical derivations in appendices at the end of applicable chapters; recent developments in laboratory testing, application to structures, and computational methods; coverage of micromechanisms of fracture; and more than 400 illustrations. This reference continues to be a necessity on the desk of anyone involved with fracture mechanics.

A residual stress measurement method has been developed to quantify through-the-thickness residual stresses. Accurate measurement of residual stresses is crucial for many engineering structures. Fabrication processes such as welding and machining generate residual stresses that are difficult to predict. Residual stresses affect the integrity of structures through promoting failures due to brittle fracture, fatigue, stress corrosion cracking, and wear. In this work, the weight function theory of fracture mechanics is used to measure residual stresses. The weight function theory is an important development in computational fracture mechanics. Stress intensity factors for arbitrary stress distribution on the crack faces can be accurately and efficiently computed for predicting crack growth. This paper demonstrates that the weight functions are equally useful in measuring residual stresses. In this method, an artificial crack is created by a thin cut in a structure containing residual stresses. The cut relieves the residual stresses normal to the crack-face and allows the relieved residual stresses to deform the structure. Strain gages placed adjacent to the cut measure the relieved strains corresponding to incrementally increasing depths of the cut. The weight functions of the cracked body relate the measured strains to the residual stresses normal to the cut within the structure. The procedure details, such as numerical integration of the singular functions in applying the weight function method, will be discussed.

This book is aimed at those in both industry and academic institutions who require a grounding not only in the basic principles of this important field but also in the practical aspects of evaluating fracture mechanics parameters.