About 35 years ago, thermal fatigue was identified as an important phenomenon which limited the lifetime of high temperature plant. In the intervening years many investigations have been carried out, primarily to give guidance on likely endurance (especially in the presence of time dependent deformation) but latterly, with the introduction of sophisticated testing machines, to provide knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of failure. A previous edited book (Fatigue at High Temperature, Elsevier Applied Science Publishers, 1983) summarised the state-of-the-art of high temperature fatigue testing and examined the factors influencing life, such as stress state, environment and microstructural effects. It also considered, in some detail, cyclic crack growth as a more rigorous approach to life limitation. The aim of the present volume (which in style and format follows exactly the same lines as its predecessor) is once again to pursue the desire to translate detailed laboratory knowledge into engineering design and assessment. There is, for example, a need to consider the limitations of the laboratory specimen and its relationship with engineering features. Many design procedures still rely on a simple endurance approach based on failure of a smooth specimen, and this is taken to indicate crack initiation in the component. In this volume, therefore, crack propagation is covered only incidentally, emphasis being placed instead on basic cyclic stress strain properties, non-isothermal behaviour, metallography, failure criteria and the need for agreed testing procedures.

This book investigates the time-dependent behavior of fiber-reinforced ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs) at elevated temperatures. The author combines the time-dependent damage mechanisms of interface and fiber oxidation and fracture with the micromechanical approach to establish the relationships between the first matrix cracking stress, matrix multiple cracking evolution, tensile strength, tensile stress-strain curves and tensile fatigue of fiber-reinforced CMCs and time. Then, using damage models of energy balance, the fracture mechanics approach, critical matrix strain energy criterion, Global Load Sharing criterion, and hysteresis loops he determines the first matrix cracking stress, interface debonded length, matrix cracking density, fibers failure probability, tensile strength, tensile stress-strain curves and fatigue hysteresis loops. Lastly, he predicts the time-dependent mechanical behavior of different fiber-reinforced CMCs, i.e., C/SiC and SiC/SiC, using the developed approaches, in order to reduce the failure risk during the operation of aero engines. The book is intended for undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in the mechanical behavior of CMCs, researchers investigating the damage evolution of CMCs at elevated temperatures, and designers responsible for hot-section CMC components in aero engines.

The aim of this major reference work is to provide a first point of entry to the literature for the researchers in any field relating to structural integrity in the form of a definitive research/reference tool which links the various sub-disciplines that comprise the whole of structural integrity. Special emphasis will be given to the interaction between mechanics and materials and structural integrity applications. Because of the interdisciplinary and applied nature of the work, it will be of interest to mechanical engineers and materials scientists from both academic and industrial backgrounds including bioengineering, interface engineering and nanotechnology. The scope of this work encompasses, but is not restricted to: fracture mechanics, fatigue, creep, materials, dynamics, environmental degradation, numerical methods, failure mechanisms and damage mechanics, interfacial fracture and nano-technology, structural analysis, surface behaviour and heart valves. The structures under consideration include: pressure vessels and piping, off-shore structures, gas installations and pipelines, chemical plants, aircraft, railways, bridges, plates and shells, electronic circuits, interfaces, nanotechnology, artificial organs, biomaterial prostheses, cast structures, mining... and more. Case studies will form an integral part of the work.

Durability of Ceramic-Matrix Composites presents the latest information on these high-temperature structural materials and their outstanding advantages over more conventional materials, including their high specific strength, high specific modulus, high temperature resistance and good thermal stability. The critical nature of the application of these advanced materials makes it necessary to have a complete understanding of their characterization. This book focuses explicitly on the durability of CMCs and will be extremely valuable for materials scientists and engineers who are dealing with the simulation of durability response and fatigue of ceramic matrix composites. - Provides the latest theoretical and applied research in the field of ceramic matrix composites, particularly as it relates to usage in aerospace propulsion systems - Presents extensive information on the micromechanics of damage evolution, lifetime prediction and durability in ceramic matrix composites - Details parameter studies that are valuable for materials development and lifetime durability studies