General Preface

The act of switching on an electric light brings with it the almost total expectation that it will
work. However, for this simple act to have a successful outcome, a massive and highly integrated
network of machines, structures, and systems must swing into operation. This network transcends
whole continents, national boundaries, and oceans, and involves structures from the smallest scale,
the nanoscales of computer, control and communication systems, to those of the most massive
scale, like concrete dams. The fact that the expectation is rarely denied is testimony to the
robustness of the total system and to the functionality of the individual components.
The electricity generating and supply industry is only one of the many integrated systems of
which we have such high expectations. Of the others, the most visible are the water supply industry,
the transport industry, the fuel supply industry, the construction industry, the health industry, the
textile industry, the food industry, and the most modern, the communications industry; all these
rely on machines, control and communication systems, and structures to operate successfully and
reliably. Some of these involve engineered products which operate in the domestic eld, like
textiles, cars, and domestic appliances, while others, like telecommunications and the
petrochemical industry, involve services both to the manufacturing industry and to domestic
customers. Yet others, like the health industry or the nancial services industry, rely on all these
industries implicitly or explicitly, to provide the products and services for their successful
operation. Successful operation requires that all components of an industry operate to their
designed intent. The mechanical integrity required for these components to function as designed is
what is meant by the term structural integrity in the context of these volumes, and they are
dedicated to the assurance of this structural integrity.
There are a number of ways in which components can fail mechanically. They may simply be
overloaded, or they may wear out. They may be exposed to a corrosive environment outside of that
for which they were designed. They may suffer extremes of loads in an unanticipated incident, or
even in an earthquake. They may also be badly designed, or manufactured, or be operated in an
abusive way, or they may be fabricated from an inappropriate or defective material. However, one
of the most frequent causes of failure is the presence of crack-like defects. These defects are
particularly signicant because they can lead to structural failure well within the original design
envelope of the structure, and the failure can be highly disruptive and without warning.
The scientic and engineering disciplines involved in assuring structural integrity encompass the
physical, chemical, mathematical, materials and engineering sciences, and in extremis involve also
the biological sciences and nanotechnology. This is not simply because of the range of industries
involved, but because of the interdisciplinary nature of the issues that can contribute to structural
failure. It is axiomatic that any analysis of structural integrity must be based upon detail that can
only be obtained by rigorous application of each of these disciplines in turn, whereas the overall
assessment must take a more global view. This view must not only integrate the separate outcomes
of the individual disciplines, but also must involve a vision of the whole picture which transcends
these disciplines, and which may also involve judgments on cost and safety implications that are
not immediately obvious. Indeed, it is extremely important to obtain the correct balance between
costs and the technical implications, as the price of making a wrong decision is almost always
excessive. In addition, although any single failure event may seem to be relatively inconsequential
in isolation, more often than not it can be the forerunner of a chain of events, which results in truly
catastrophic consequences.
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General Preface

This treatise, called Comprehensive Structural Integrity, comprises 10 separate volumes, each
addressing different aspects of structural integrity assessment.
It begins with an introductory volume, Structural Integrity AssessmentExamples and Case
Studies. This volume attempts to put structural integrity into perspective. It contains 19 chapters.
The rst chapter introduces the whole treatise. It is aimed at providing an out-of-the-frame
reference to structural integrity issues, demonstrating their ubiquitous nature, the costs to the
community, the implications of structural failure on whole industries, and the fact that failures do
not occur out of the blue, but arise from a technical error, a lack of technical foresight, or from a
management failure. Structural integrity is not something that simply happens because of good
design and construction. It requires proper assessment and active management throughout all
phases of the life of a structure.
This volume contains a further 18 chapters, each one addressing issues associated with a specic
industry or a specic technology. They draw from case studies, in some presenting these in detail,
and in others presenting only a broad outline of the main components. These chapters are not
meant to provide detailed scientic studies, but are to give examples of historic and current issues,
with sufcient technical detail to provide a coherent account of the causes and effects, and to give
insights into how case studies are performed, or how they are made use of, both commercially and
technically. They are meant to demonstrate the need to view the whole picture, and that too close a
focus on one part of it risks serious consequences. They raise most of the technical issues addressed
in the remaining volumes, but reveal some of the complexities of real-life engineering structures
and operation. The importance of a sub-optimal combination of features appears in many of these
chapters as does the signicance of event chains, not only in causing the failure of a component but
also in contributing to the magnitude of the consequences. There are elements of bad practices
identied, solutions given, and lessons to learn.
Volumes 29 address the details of the various technical theories, mechanisms, and other
components required to ensure structural integrity of engineering structures of all types, large and
small. Volumes 27 tend to be discipline oriented, and attempt to provide a full description of the
methods used. As far as possible, each of these is self-contained, although some cross-fertilization
is unavoidable. Volumes 8 and 9 are special volumes, addressing in turn nanostructures and
structures engineered for biological purposes. These have been separated from other volumes, as
they tend to address specialist aspects associated with their own technologies. Nevertheless, the
fundamental sciences and technologies on which they are based are contained in the most part
within Volumes 27. Additional fundamental issues specic to the nanoscale are addressed in
Volume 8. The nal volume, Volume 10, contains the subject index.
Volume 2, Fundamental Theories and Mechanisms of Failure, describes the fundamental theories
and mechanisms of failure in materials and structures. The rst ve chapters describe the general
theories, with only a minimum of material-specic details, which form the foundations of the stress
analysis and design of all structures. The remaining 10 chapters are devoted to specic materials
and, on the one hand, describe the inuence of the microstructure of the material on its
performance, and, on the other, how this inuence is accounted for in the general theories.
The rst chapter of this volume gives an overview of the existing strength theories, including
elasticity and plasticity theories. It also covers theoretical aspects of limit analysis, shakedown,
progressive damage accumulation, creep, and multiaxial fatigue. The second chapter describes
theories of elastic and inelastic buckling and of large strains. The next chapter describes in detail
linear elastic (LEFM) and elasticplastic fracture mechanics (EPFM). It introduces the important
concepts of fracture toughness and toughness for linear elastic and elasticplastic materials with
limited ductility. For materials that exhibit extensive plasticity, it is shown that the crack resistance
description may require two or even three parameters. Fracture mechanics is one of the most
valuable tools for examining the safety of cracked structures, for developing effective remedial
measures, if required, and for determining their remnant useful life.
All structures are designed and manufactured in such a way as to avoid, as far as possible, cracklike defects. Such defects can, however, form during the service of the structure. The formation of
defects is an evolutionary process resulting from the accumulation of damage as a result of working
environment, e.g., creep and fatigue. This damage is usually distributed in the structure initially
and only tends to localize into discrete cracks just before failure. The distributed damage can be
handled in a manner similar to that of plasticity in the framework of continuum damage
mechanics. This framework is elucidated in another chapter. This is followed by a chapter
describing the theory of fracture under dynamic and/or impact loads, highlighting the considerable
differences in the performance of structures under high strain rates from their performance under
quasi-static and cyclic loads.

General Preface

ix

The remaining chapters of this volume are devoted to the mechanisms of failure in different
engineering materials, ranging from concrete and steel to composites, such as metalmatrix
composites, ceramic composites, functionally graded materials, and ferroelectrics. Polymer
composites are dealt with elsewhere. Each of these chapters highlights the role of microstructure
of the material in its observed behavior under various working conditions. In many instances, the
observed behavior has been captured through appropriate changes to the general theories
described in the rst ve chapters.
Volume 3 covers Numerical and Computational Methods. Accurate stress analysis of real
structures containing diffuse or localized damage is a very difcult task even in the elastic state.
The task is further complicated if the material is in plastic state and if the structural geometry is
complex. This task cannot be accomplished analytically in all but the simplest structures, yet it has
to be performed in order to assess the integrity of the structure. This volume addresses the
computational methods for an accurate stress analysis of real structures. Thus, computational
methods based on nite and boundary elements are described. Whilst the boundary element
method is limited to elastic structures, methods based on the nite elements are useful for both
LEFM and EPFM under static and dynamic loads, as well as the calculation of the residual
stresses induced by welding. These computational methods have been described.
For structures containing diffuse damage (microcracks), as opposed to discrete macrocracks,
computational methods based on continuum damage mechanics have been introduced. Such
methods are particularly useful for stress analysis of structures made from composites and
concrete. Alternatively, methods based on mathematical programming are necessary for limit and
shakedown analysis, while those based on neural networks and ltering approaches are
appropriate for the inverse identication of material and system parameters from their observed
responses.
This volume also introduces the latest developments in nite element techniques which avoid remeshing when analyzing one or several growing cracks in a structure.
Volume 4, Cyclic Loading and Fatigue, provides a comprehensive, multidisciplinary description
of the broad topic of deformation and failure due to cyclic fatigue in engineering materials and
structures from all relevant viewpoints, including mechanics, modeling, application design and life
prediction, microscopic mechanisms, and material class. Following a general introduction, the rst
two chapters focus on the general engineering analysis and accompanying mechanistic aspects of
low-cycle-fatigue failures (including cyclic deformation and crack initiation) and high-cycle-fatigue
failures (including ultra-long-life behavioralso called gigacycle fatigue). The treatment here
includes a description of the mechanisms of cyclic deformation, crack initiation and growth
(principally for ductile, i.e., metallic materials), as well as the relevant mechanics associated with
fatigue analysis. This is followed by chapters devoted to the principal ways in which design against
fatigue is achieved, namely, total life or S/N approaches (as described in the chapter on local strain
approach) and the damage-tolerant approach (as described in the chapter on fatigue crack
propagation).
Subsequent chapters are centered on specic topics, specically modeling (analytical and
numerical), multiaxial fatigue, variable-amplitude effects, and fretting/contact fatigue. In these
chapters the topics are presented in terms of both total life and crack propagation methodologies,
again with a balanced mechanics/mechanistic perspective. These are followed by a set of chapters
describing the fatigue behavior of specic materials, namely, brittle materials (ceramics and
intermetallics), polymeric materials and composites, and nally four shorter chapters reviewing the
importance of fatigue: (a) in combination with high temperatures (creep/fatigue) and active
environments (corrosion fatigue), and (b) in small-volume structures. These last topics are treated
in more complete fashion in Volumes 5, 6, and 8, respectively. Of interest here is how the fatigue
behavior of ceramics and polymeric materials is, in many ways, mechanistically quite different
from that in metals, yet can still be described within the same framework. Specically, by
considering fatigue crack growth as a mutual consequence of intrinsic damage mechanisms ahead
of a crack tip, which promote cracking, opposed by extrinsic crack-tip shielding mechanisms
behind the tip, which impede it, the distinction between the fatigue behavior of ductile versus brittle
materials can be described simply in terms of the relative importance of each class of mechanism
intrinsic mechanisms dominating in ductile materials, whereas extrinsic mechanisms dominate in
brittle materials. The volume ends with a chapter on the application of the concepts to actual
fatigue failures in service through a description of several case studies.
Volume 5, Creep and High-temperature Failure, addresses the topic of high-temperature
performance of materials and structures, which requires consideration of new deformation and
damage modes. High-temperature operation involves time-dependent deformation known as creep,

General Preface

changes in strength, crack initiation and growth resistance and fracture properties due to the high
temperatures, enhanced oxidation kinetics, and time- and stress-dependent changes in microstructure that inuence the properties as a function of time. The volume opens with a chapter
presenting the mechanisms of creep deformation and rupture and physical models that allow us to
predict these phenomena.
Most structures that operate at high temperatures are also subjected to cyclic loading and quite
frequently to transient and steady-state temperature gradients. This leads to conditions of creepfatigue interaction and/or thermalmechanical fatigue. Invariably, this involves crack initiation
and growth and this is treated in the next two chapters, one addressing mainly how cracks are
initiated under these conditions, the other mainly on crack growth under these conditions. The two
chapters that follow describe the time-dependent fracture mechanics approach for predicting crack
growth under creep conditions. The rst of the two chapters focuses on basic time-dependent
fracture mechanics concepts while the second focuses on experimental methods for characterizing
the creep crack growth behavior. Finally, the volume is completed by chapters addressing the
prediction of creep-fatigue crack growth and the assessment of remnant life in both ferritic
materials and non-ferritic materials.
Volume 6, Environmentally Assisted Failure, addresses fracture where an environmental
component is involved. Environment can affect structural integrity in a number of ways: general
corrosion, pitting corrosion, crevice corrosion, stress corrosion, and corrosion fatigue being the
most obvious.
The volume opens with an introductory chapter explaining the general nature of environmentally assisted failure, the types of environments involved, and a brief description of how these may
compromise structural integrity and how they interact. Although the chemical effect of the
environment is often the same under both steady loading and cyclic loading, the mechanical effects
may be different. Accordingly, this is treated separately by chapters addressing these mechanisms
as if they were discrete. Thus, there are chapters included on stress corrosion cracking and
environmentally assisted fatigue, and the latter is separated further into mechanisms in liquid
environments and in gaseous ones.
Environmental degradation in nonmetallic structures is as important as in metallic ones, and
chapters are included to address such degradation in reinforced concrete structures, and in
polymers.
Hydrogen is often treated as a special case in environmentally assisted cracking, as it can
inuence structural integrity in one of two ways. Hydrides may form in some metals, which can
induce a crack to form under the inuence of a tensile stress. More commonly, hydrogen dissolves
in the metal, which is embrittled particularly where hydrogen can accumulate, such as in the plastic
zone at the tip of a crack or defect. Thus, two chapters are included treating hydrogen effects, one
where hydride formation affects cracking, and another on hydrogen cracking in nonhydride
forming alloys. Oxygen can also have an effect, of course, especially in higher-temperature
applications, and a chapter is included that addresses the interaction of creep, fatigue, and
oxidation.
Finally, one of the most damaging of environmental effects arises from neutron irradiation. This
is different from other forms of environmental degradation, in that it simply causes embrittlement,
and is neither crack forming nor does it contribute to a general reduction of the load bearing area.
But the amount of embrittlement is potentially large, and in the presence of crack-like defects that
may arise due to other mechanisms, it can have severe consequences on structural integrity. The
nal chapter gives a detailed account of the mechanisms of irradiation embrittlement, its
measurement, and prediction.
Volume 7, Practical Failure Assessment Methods, describes global codes for failure assessment of
structures containing crack-like defects from the underlying philosophies, to their implementation
in tness-for-purpose standards. Standards based on failure assessment diagrams and on
estimation of crack driving force parameters are presented and the equivalence of these two
approaches is discussed. Essential inputs to both approaches are fracture toughness data and a
description of the crack-like defects. Methods for measuring and interpreting the required fracture
toughness data in all fracture regimes are presented. Guidance on characterizing the size and shape
of a defect is given. Practical issues such as the treatment of thermal and residual stresses, warm
prestressing, and dynamic problems are addressed. In addition to fracture assessment methods, the
volume also covers special approaches such as the local approach to fracture, leak-before-break
arguments for pressurized components, and probabilistic fracture mechanics. Although the volume
largely addresses metallic structures, fracture assessment methods for concrete and ceramics are
covered. Also included is a chapter presenting experiments to demonstrate the behavior and

General Preface

xi

performance of large-scale structures under a variety of loading systems and the validation of the
assessment techniques. The volume concludes with a discussion of the features and the logic that
can be applied in making the nal decision.
Volume 8, Interfacial and Nanoscale Fracture, considers the structural integrity issues specic to
interfacial and nanoscale fracture and their potential implications for new and emerging
technologies. The rst three chapters develop interfacial fracture theories under static and
dynamic loads. The next ve chapters are devoted to reliability issues in electronic packaging,
electronic materials, microelectronic circuits, and MEMS. Unique techniques for experimentation
at micro- and nanoscales are described in the next two chapters. Failure at nanoscale and reliability
of nanostructures are addressed in the remaining chapters.
The exposition is comprehensive, without duplication of material from Volumes 24. Thus, only
those theoretical aspects that are specic to nanoscale are covered in this volume. Likewise,
numerical techniques for continuum or quasi-continuum analysis described in Volume 3 are not
considered, but computational techniques based on a combination of atomistic and continuum
analysis are included.
Volume 9, Bioengineering, addresses the very special structural integrity issues related to dental,
orthopedic, and cardiovascular implants engineered for body implantation. This volume is
organized differently from the others, with chapters focusing on the special materials used for
medical devices, and on some specic types of them. It addresses fundamental issues of fatigue
fracture, contact mechanics, wear, and biocompatibility, which is an environmental issue different
from those associated with more conventional engineering plants. The human body is considered
to be one of the most aggressive environments. The environments here cannot be controlled, of
course, so the material performance in the environment is the only means of management
available.
This is emphasized in the opening chapter, where fatigue and wear issues are addressed using,
among other things, heart valves and hip prosthesis as examples. Methods of fatigue evaluation are
presented, including predictive tools for in vivo assessment and environmental stability. The
mechanics of hard and soft tissues are then addressed, which includes their cell structureproperty
relationships and the methods of evaluation. Knowledge of soft and hard tissue enables a proper
basis for the application of biomaterials for specic implants. This is followed by four chapters on
biomaterials, covering in turn metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites. These chapters typically
cover the relevant applications, their mechanical properties, biocompatibility, fracture behavior,
and their microstructureproperty relationships, and include where possible some case studies of
failures and expected future advances. Special chapters are included on heart valves, joint
prosthesis and dental bridges, and also on rehabilitation bioengineering, which addresses articial
limbs, materials used, muscle forces and stresses due to walking and running, etc., and the standard
testing of prosthesis.
This 10-volume Comprehensive Structural Integrity set provides a rst point of entry to the
literature for both the engineer and the researcher across a wide range of disciplines. In all there are
130 chapters with contributions from over 190 distinguished experts from 21 different countries. It
takes the form of a denitive research and reference tool that links the various technical disciplines
which comprise the whole spectrum of structural integrity. The volumes will be of use to students,
researchers, and practicing engineers alike.
I. Milne
Structural Integrity Management, Matlock, UK
B. Karihaloo
University of Wales, Cardiff, UK
R. O. Ritchie
University of California, Berkeley, USA