Advances in Research on the Strength and Fracture of Materials: Volume 4—Fracture and Society contains the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Fracture, held at the University of Waterloo, Canada, in June 1977. The papers review the social implications of fracture in a wide range of materials, with emphasis on education and politics. This volume is comprised of 22 chapters and opens by discussing fracture and fracture mechanics before introducing the reader to fracture problems in nuclear reactors; plastic flow around a crack under friction and combined stress; crack closure in fatigue crack growth; and the effect of the atomic structure's discreteness on cleavage crack extension in brittle materials. The following chapters explore the physical nature of fracture in composite materials; political and social decision making in relation to fracture, failure, risk analysis, and safe design; and the teaching of fracture in universities. This monograph will be a useful resource for metallurgists, materials scientists, and structural and mechanical engineers.
