This book consists of a collection of lectures prepared for a short course on "Fracture Mechanics Methodology" sponsored by the Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD), part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The course was organized jointly by Professor George C. Sih of the Institute of Fracture and Solid Mechanics at Lehigh University in the United States and Professor Luciano Faria from Centro de Mecanica e de Materiais das Universidade de Lisboa in Portugal. It was held in Lisbon from June 1 to 4, 1981. Dr. Robert Badaliance from the McDonnell Aircraft Company in St. Louis and Dr. Oscar Orringer from the Depart- ment of Transportation in Cambridge are the other US lecturers while Professor Carlos Moura Branco from Portugal also lectured. The audience consisted of engineers from the Portuguese industry with a large portion from the aeronautical sector and others who are particularly interested to apply the fracture mechanics discipline for analyzing the integrity of structural components and fracture control methods. Particular. emphases were given to the fundamentals of fracture mechanics as applied to aircraft structures.

The impact of CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) on the competitiveness of industry is nowadays well acknowledged. Significant increases in productivity, reduction of production costs and the ability to modify operations quickly are amongst the gains made when applying CIM technologies. The integration of automation islands and the application of information technology throughout manufacturing and engineering environments constitute key tasks for European industry. ESPRIT (European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology) is a pre-competitive industry-oriented collaborative research and development programme in information technology. The programme is managed and co-funded by the European Community and is organised in close liaison with industry, national administ rations and the research Community. ESPRIT has the following three objectives: - To provide the European information technology industry with the basic technologies to meet the competitive requirements of the 1990s; - To promote European industrial cooperation in information technology; - To pave the way for standards. The CIM part of the ESPRIT programme addresses the application of information technology in industrial environments. CIM-Europe is an information and awareness activity of ESPRIT. Its aim is to consolidate and enhance the effects of ESPRIT CIM by disseminating information on progress and achievements in the programme. It stimulates interaction between project teams in CIM and other areas, encouraging the development and the application of CIM techniques to the benefit of European industry. CIM-Europe's main activities are meetings (Study Groups, Workshops and its Annual Conference) and publications (Notices and Proceedings) ."

This book consists of a collection of lectures prepared for a short course on "Fracture Mechanics Methodology" sponsored by the Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD), part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The course was organized jointly by Professor George C. Sih of the Institute of Fracture and Solid Mechanics at Lehigh University in the United States and Professor Luciano Faria from Centro de Mecanica e de Materiais das Universidade de Lisboa in Portugal. It was held in Lisbon from June 1 to 4, 1981. Dr. Robert Badaliance from the McDonnell Aircraft Company in St. Louis and Dr. Oscar Orringer from the Depart ment of Transportation in Cambridge are the other US lecturers while Professor Carlos Moura Branco from Portugal also lectured. The audience consisted of engineers from the Portuguese industry with a large portion from the aeronautical sector and others who are particularly interested to apply the fracture mechanics discipline for analyzing the integrity of structural components and fracture control methods. Particular. emphases were given to the fundamentals of fracture mechanics as applied to aircraft structures."