10. Fracture mechanics

10.1 Fault propagation

Another approach to analyzing the fatigue behavior of constructional details – is "timidly" envisaged by NF EN 1993-1-10 – and consists in making use of the rules of fracture mechanics, whose use in current practice remains limited.

Stresses, strains and displacements are proportional to a single parameter: the stress intensity coefficient, $K$ . This parameter depends on the loading of the cracked detail and the geometries of the detail and defect.

The fault does not propagate when $K$ remains below a critical value,...