Fracture Mechanics: The Experimental Method of Caustics and the Det.-Criterion of Fracture

Fracture and Mechanics is concerned with the experimental method of static and dynamic caustics and the Distribution of Determinant (Det.)-criterion of fracture. The Det.-criterion determines the conditions causing a crack and gives information on the expected angle of crack propagation. The object of this publication is to present the latest results to the re.earch and development community and to assist the teaching of experimental fracture mechanics and stress analysis in undergraduate and postgraduate courses. After discussing the basic theoretical considerations on the subject, experimental techniques and applications are introduced. Most of the results presented are based on the author's own investigations in the field of experimental mechanics since 1973 at the National Technical University of Athens.