A new branch of science usually develops thus. Somebody publishes the basic ideas. Hesitatingly at first, then little by little, other original contributions appear, until a certain threshold is reached. Then, overview articles are printed, conferences are held, and a first mention is made in textbooks, until specialized monographs are written. Continuum darnage mechanics has reached that status now. To analyze or, if possible, to predict the failure of machine parts or other structures is one of the main goals of engineering science. Consequently fracture mechanics became one of its leading branches. It was based on the analysis of existing cracks. However, especially under conditions of cyclic loading, this might be too late to prevent a disaster. Therefore, the question regarding the precursory state, that is, the evolution of intemal darnage before macrocracks become visible, was then posed. One of the successful approaches to the problern was Weibull's theory which examined, in a statistical manner, the "weakest link" in the material volume under consideration. Unfortunately it proved too difficult mathematically to be applied to complicated parts or structures. Therefore it was highly appreciated by the scientific of material community when L. M. Kachanov published in 1958 a simple model darnage which subsequently could be extended to brittle elastic, plastic or viscous materials under all conditions of uniaxial or multiaxial, simple or cyclic loadings, so that it may be considered nearly universal.

This textbook teaches macroscopic modeling for design, processing, testing and control of mechanical components in engineering. The first chapter dealswith the phenomenology of damage; the second couples damage to strains and covers the three-dimensional situation; the third is devoted to kinetic laws of damage evolution used by the author to unify many models; the fourthgives several methods to predict crack initiation. Detailed calculations andmany exercises help students to apply the powerful techniques to practical problems in engineering.

Reflecting his major contributions to the field, Jean Lemaitre’s "Engineering Damage Mechanics" presents simplified and advanced methods organized within a unified framework for designers of any mechanical component. Explains how to apply continuous damage mechanics to failures of mechanical and civil engineering components in ductile, creep, fatigue and brittle conditions. Incorporates many basic examples, while emphasizing key practical considerations such as material parameter identification, and provides perspective on the advantage and disadvantages of various approaches.

Created in 1975, LMT-Cachan is a joint laboratory École Normale Superieure de Cachan, Pierre & Marie Curie (Paris 6) University and the French Research Council CNRS (Department of Engineering Sciences). The Year 2000 marked the 25th anniversary of LMT. On this occasion, a series of lectures was organized in Cachan in September-October, 2000. This publication contains peer-reviewed proceedings of these lectures and is aimed to present engineers and scientists with an overview of the latest developments in the field of damage mechanics. The formulation of damage models and their identification procedures were discussed for a variety of materials.

This textbook offers readers an introduction to fracture mechanics, equipping them to grasp the basic ideas of the presented approaches to modeling in applied mechanics In the first part, the book reviews and expands on the classical theory of elastic and elasto-plastic material behavior. A solid understanding of these two topics is the essential prerequisite to advancing to damage and fracture mechanics. Thus, the second part of this course provides an introduction to the treatment of damage and fractures in the context of applied mechanics Wherever possible, the one-dimensional case is first introduced and then generalized in a following step. This departs somewhat from the more classical approach, where first the most general case is derived and then simplified to special cases. In general, the required mathematics background is kept to a minimum Tutorials are included at the end of each chapter, presenting the major steps for the solution and offering valuable tips and tricks. The supplementary problems featured in the book