The original objective of this meeting was to assess how fracture mechanics is now being used in practice, both in design and service, in different industries, and the extent to which it is now established as a reliable tool. It was hoped to bring together engineers and scientists with experience in different applications of fracture mechanics. My own impressions of some of the important conclusions that have emerged from this meeting are as follows. 1. The simple concept of a constant fracture toughness controlling unstable fracture under nearly l.e.f.m. and quasi-static loading conditions seems to work remarkably well for a variety of materials, including alloys, plastics and composites (see Professor Williams’s paper). But when plastic deformation becomes significant, there are complications, in particular the effects of triaxiality of the stress system, a point stressed by Professor Burdekin, and also of high rates of strain, which must be taken into account in applying toughness values obtained from laboratory tests to actual structures in service.
Fracture toughness of steel adherend bonded with two-part polyurethane adhesives: Double cantilever beam tests under static loading