This volume of proceedings contains the papers from the third in a successful series of conferences organized by the Deutscher Verband fur Materialforschung undprufung DVM]. The purpose of the conference was to review methods of improving the performance of materials and structures and to extend working life, especially under complex loading conditions such as environmental attack and high temperature degradation as well as providing a comprehensive evaluation of recent progress in low cycle fatigue and elasto-plastic behaviour of materials. Safe design and effective operation of highly stressed structures rely on the extensive use of mechanical approaches and micromechanics analysis to predict the deformation and fracture response of materials in service. Because of the need to create greater confidence in the engineering world in advanced materials as efficient replacements for conventional materials, many of the papers emphasize the role of new materials and emerging technology.