The cause of engineering failures has very often been a pre-existing crack or other defect. Until recently it has not been possible to allow for pre-existing defects in spite of the probability that some will be present in almost every structure, no matter how carefully fabricated. Fracture mechanics aims to determine the severity of a pre-existing defect in terms of its tendency to initiate fracture. It is also concerned with resistance to crack propagation and with crack growth rates in fatigue and stress corrosion cracking. Consequently fracture mechanics has ushered in a new era in the assessment of the reliability of structures. Technical Note available for purchase at: www.wtia.com.au/catalog.htm .
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