An extension of fracture mechanics/technology to larger and smaller cracks/defects

Abstract

Fracture mechanics/technology is a key science and technology for the design and integrity assessment of the engineering structures. However, the conventional fracture mechanics has mostly targeted a limited size of cracks/defects, say of from several hundred microns to several tens of centimeters. The author and his group has tried to extend that limited size and establish a new version of fracture technology for very large cracks used in geothermal energy extraction and for very small cracks/defects or damage often appearing in the combination of mechanical and electronic components of engineering structures. Those new versions are reviewed in this paper.

A comparison of electromigration failure of metal lines with fracture mechanics

“…The width of metal lines considered ranges from 980 nm to 9.9 µm. The studies on EM failure of metal lines are a part of the frontiers of fracture technology [2].…”