Failure of engineering components and structures as a result of fracture and fatigue is not an unusual event, even today. Research in this area in the Solid Mechanics group has concentrated on understanding the effects of mixed mode loading on fracture and on improving the accuracy of predictions of fatigue life.

Working closely with the aerospace and power industries, we aim to forward the understanding of the fracture and fatigue to allow more efficient and reliable use of metals. An extensive range of experimental facilities are available for fatigue and fracture testing. There are a wide range of servo-controlled hydraulic machines for static and cyclic strain testing, varying frequency fatigue and thermo-mechanical strain. There are also creep rigs, high pressure and temperature testing facilities and diffusion bonding machines. In addition, the group has extensive computing facilities to allow complex finite element analysis.

Projects

Over the past five years the group has had a sustained research portfolio of substantive projects from the following:

• UK Science Council EPSRC (12)
• European Commission (5)
• European and North American Industrial companies (5)

Currently the group has six EPSRC, three EU-FP5 and five Industrial projects. This research effort has resulted in excess of a dozen PhDs, employed eight post docs and resulted in over 60 high quality journal publications and over 70 conference papers and presentations. More recently, the success has provided the impetus for developing projects supported substantially by industry and within the European Community, hence serving both UK and European strategic industrial requirements. We also play a role in underpinning strategic research requirements for the UK Ministry of Defence.