Fracture -- Instability dynamics, scaling, and ductile/brittle behavior

Abstract

This symposium, entitled Fracture: Instability Dynamics, Scaling, and Ductile/Brittle Behavior, was held November 27--December 1, 1995, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, during the 1995 Materials Research Society Fall Meeting. The purpose was to review the fundamentals of fracture, with special sessions on the ductile/brittle transition, fracture at interfaces, fracture in ceramics and composites, dynamic instabilities in crack propagation, and fractals and scaling in fracture. Investigators used a variety of methods to model fracture, including ab initio techniques, classical molecular dynamics, Green`s function methods, dislocations as point particles or as line segments, statistical mechanical models, finite element models, and continuum models. Experimental papers also emphasized a wide range of techniques for measuring the effects of fractures, ranging from fracture toughness measurements to atomic-force and scanning-electron microscopy. Major topics included impurity embrittlement, interfacial adhesion, and toughness of ceramics and composites, and the morphology of fracture surfaces. Fifty one papers have been processed separately for inclusion on the data base.