1 Microscopic aspects of fracture: Cohesive stress. - 2 Linear elastic behaviour of flaws: Purely elastic treatment. - 2. 1 The notch: stress and strain concentrations. - 2. 2 The crack: stress intensity factors. - 2. 3 The three-dimensional crack. - 3 Linear elastic treatment of flaws: Plasticity correction. - 3. 1 Model of small scale yielding for a notch. - 3. 2 Models of small scale yielding for a crack. - 3. 3 Implications of these models in fracture. - 4 Linear elastic treatment of fracture: The risk of brittle fracture. - 4. 1 The toughness. - 4. 2 The flaw. - 4. 3 The mechanical loading. - 4. 4 Example of application: Pressure vessels. - 5 Microscopic aspect of fracture: Cleavage and ductile rupture. - 5. 1 Background of Dislocation Theory. - 5. 2 Experimental modes of investigation. - 5. 3 Cleavage fracture. - 5. 4 Intergranular fracture. - 5. 5 Ductile fracture. - 5. 6 Shear fracture. - 5. 7 The ductile-brittle transition with smooth and notched specimens. - 6 Plastic treatment of discontinuities: Fully plastic treatment and large deformation correction. - 6. 1 Rigid-perfectly plastic material: The limit load. - 6. 2 Strain hardening plastic material: The contour integral. - 6. 3 The three-dimensional problem. - 6. 4 Crack extension. - 6. 5 Using the J integral in fatigue analysis. - 7 Plastic treatment of discontinuities: Elastic-plastic treatment. - 7. 1 General description of stress and strain fields. - 7. 2 The small-scale yielding and theQfamily of fields. - 7. 3 Small Scale Yielding and mixed modes. - 7. 4 Finite-width crack bodies. - 7. 5 The loading parameters. - 7. 6 The three-dimensional problem. - 7. 7 The quasi-static growth. - 7. 8 Implication of these models for fracture. - 8 Elastoplastic treatment of discontinuities: The risk of fracture. - 8. 1 Toughness: Relationship between microscopic and macroscopic aspects. - 8. 2 Structural applications. - Appendices. - Guide for Further Reading and Bibliography. - Answers to Selected Problems. Language: English