Dept.

of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, IIT Bombay

MM658 Fracture Mechanics and Failure Analysis

Spring 2019; Tue, Fri 5.30-7 pm @ LH102

Course objectives: To develop an understanding of the mechanics of fracture of diverse engineering materials
and structures under static and dynamic loading, to ensure reliability and safety of structural components by
developing predictive capabilities and for determining correlation between defect structure-performance
correlation until failure.

Pre-requisites: Basics of strength of materials, mechanical behavior of materials and basic engineering
mathematics

This course will cover the following topics:

Thermodynamics of fracture-Griffith theory; Stability of cracks, Crack resistance curves; Toughening
mechanisms in brittle materials and composites; Linear elastic fracture mechanics, Irwin and Dugdale
extensions; Ductile failure, J-integral and CTOD: Fracture mechanisms in metals; Dynamic fracture; Cyclic
Fatigue; Indentation, micro-mechanical testing and size effects; Environment assisted failure, embrittlement;
Standards and testing methods to measure stress intensity factor; Thin film fracture; Fracture mechanics of
composites and layered/graded structures; Fracture in bio-material and bio-inspired structures; Failure
investigation and fractography-case studies; Fail-safe design and damage tolerance concepts: Material selection;

References/Text Books: There is no single text book for the course. 1. Fracture Mechanics-Fundamentals and
Applications by T.L Anderson (mostly followed) 2. Fracture Mechanics by A. T. Zehnder 3. Engineering
Fracture Mechanics by D. Broek 4. Fracture of brittle solids by B R Lawn 5. Chapters from Mechanical
Behavior of Materials by T. H. Courtney
I will refer to specific chapters from different books while we cover them.

Generic rules:
1. Attendance will not be taken – but assuming you are genuinely interested in the course, and that most
topics are linked, try not to miss the class except for justified medical reasons.
2. Approximate marks distribution: Quiz 1 - 10, Quiz 2 - 10, Mid-Sem exam - 20, Term Paper/Seminar –
10, Final exam – 40, Tutorials/Assignments - 10. (there may be slight modification to this marks
distribution)
3. If you are more than 10 minutes late, please do not come to class. It disturbs everyone else and gains you
nothing.
4. If you think you need additional help in the course, please contact the T.As
5. All information, course material and announcements will be put up on Moodle. It is your responsibility
to check.

Instructor: Nagamani Jaya Balila

E-mail: jayabalila@iitb.ac.in Tel: 022-2576-7626

Teaching Assistants: Soudip Basu: 174119001@iitb.ac.in; Deepesh Yadav: 173110017@iitb.ac.in