Engineering

Developing next-gen, smart engine fan blades

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) is transforming the way companies in many industries are manufacturing their products, and the aerospace industry is no exception. For example, aircraft manufacturers are improving ...

Engineering

New computer program predicts crack initiation in 3-D

Most structures and materials have defects, and if the conditions are right, these defects can lead to the initiation and propagation of cracks. Finding out where and with what orientation a surface crack is most likely to ...

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Fracture

A fracture is the (local) separation of an object or material into two, or more, pieces under the action of stress.

The word fracture is often applied to bones of living creatures (that is, a bone fracture), or to crystals or crystalline materials, such as gemstones or metal. Sometimes, in crystalline materials, individual crystals fracture without the body actually separating into two or more pieces. Depending on the substance which is fractured, a fracture reduces strength (most substances) or inhibits transmission of light (optical crystals).

A detailed understanding of how fracture occurs in materials may be assisted by the study of fracture mechanics.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA