Fracture Mechanics: An Introduction, Edition 3

Emmanuel E. Gdoutos

Mar 2020 · Solid Mechanics and Its Applications Book 263 · Springer Nature

About this ebook

New developments in the applications of fracture mechanics to engineering problems have taken place in the last years. Composite materials have extensively been used in engineering problems. Quasi-brittle materials including concrete, cement pastes, rock, soil, etc. all benefit from these developments. Layered materials and especially thin film/substrate systems are becoming important in small volume systems used in micro and nanoelectromechancial systems (MEMS and NEMS). Nanostructured materials are being introduced in our every day life. In all these problems fracture mechanics plays a major role for the prediction of failure and safe design of materials and structures. These new challenges motivated the author to proceed with the second edition of the book.

The second edition of the book contains four new chapters in addition to the ten chapters of the first edition. The fourteen chapters of the book cover the basic principles and traditional applications, as well as the latest developments of fracture mechanics as applied to problems of composite materials, thin films, nanoindentation and cementitious materials. Thus the book provides an introductory coverage of the traditional and contemporary applications of fracture mechanics in problems of utmost technological importance.

With the addition of the four new chapters the book presents a comprehensive treatment of fracture mechanics. It includes the basic principles and traditional applications as well as the new frontiers of research of fracture mechanics during the last three decades in topics of contemporary importance, like composites, thin films, nanoindentation and cementitious materials. The book contains fifty example problems and more than two hundred unsolved problems. A "Solutions Manual" is available upon request for course instructors from the author.

About the author

Dr. Emmanuel E. Gdoutos is a member of the Academy of Athens, the most prestigious academic institute in Greece; a Professor Emeritus of the Democritus University of Thrace, Greece; Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University, USA; and Distinguished Clark Millikan Visiting Professor at California Institute of Technology, USA. He is member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, of Academia Europaea, and of the European Academy of Sciences. He is a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Engineering, the International Academy of Engineering, and the Russian and Bulgarian Academies of Sciences. He is a fellow and honorary member of various international societies. He was awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Russian Academy of Sciences and from the University of Nis, Serbia, and has received numerous international awards. He is an honorary citizen of the prefecture of Lesvos, Greece. He was the President of the European Structural Integrity Society, the European Society for Experimental Mechanics, and the Society for Experimental Mechanics. He has taught in several universities in Greece and USA. His research interests include experimental mechanics, fracture mechanics, advanced composite materials, sandwich construction, and nanotechnology. He has authored/co-authored more than 300 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings and 40 books.