Cleavage and Ductile Fracture Mechanisms: The Microstructural Basis of Fracture Toughness

Our preceding discussion has dealt primarily with the macroscopic aspects of fracture with only occasional reference to behavior on the microscopic level. Eventually, it would be desirable to minimize the expensive process of fracture toughness testing by predicting behavior from more fundamental material properties and simpler material tests. Any such predictions have to be based on the microstructural features of the fracture process. Impressive progress has been made in relating fracture behavior to more fundamental properties but also because of the insight it provides into the physical processes involved in fracture.