ES 247

These notes were prepared when I taught fracture mechanics in 2010, and were updated when I taught the course again in 2014.

Notes on other parts of the course are also online.

These notes were prepared when I taught fracture mechanics in 2010, and were updated when I taught the course again in 2014. I hope to start a conversation at a new post entitled Division of Labor.

Notes on other parts of the course are also online.

I wrote these notes on the Griffith (1921) paper for a graduate course on fracture mechanics taught in 2010.  The notes were updated when I taught the course in 2014, and were discussed in a new thread titled Inglis (1913) vs. Griffith (1921).

A body is subject to a load. What is the magnitude of the load that will cause the body to fracture? Let us begin with a body made of a glass, which deforms elastically by small strains. A procedure you have been taught before probably goes as follows. You first determine the maximum stress in the body. You then determine the strength of the material. The body is supposed to fracture when the maximum stress in the body reaches the strength of the material.