The papers in this useful volume reflect the diverse nature of Experimental Mechanics. They cover topics ranging from small-scale experimentation to the assessment of full-scale structures. Novel sensing and sensor technologies are fully covered, as well as full-field techniques for stress/strain analysis. A section on applications and case studies features an entire session dedicated to vehicle component studies. The stresses which develop during manufacture and forming are covered in a session dedicated to manufacturing processes.

This volume comprises selected papers from the Asian Pacific Conference for Fracture and Strength (APCFS’04), held on Jeju Island, Korea during the 6th to 8th October, 2004. During this conference, participants from the Asian-Pacific region gathered in order to exchange the latest experimental, theoretical and computational research on the fracture, strength, integrity and reliability of materials and structures.

This compilation of selected papers has, as its principal objective, the discussion of state-of-the-art technologies and recent developments in the macro-, meso-, micro- and nano-mechanics of materials and structures.

The study of damage evolution, location and characterisation is an important aspect of the growing area of SHM and is a major theme of the conference. The link between SHM and machine condition-monitoring is emphasised by the substantial contribution, to the proceedings, which concerns the application of damage assessment techniques to rotating machines. In order to analyse efficiently the data–rich information, provided by monitoring and NDE techniques, it is necessary to use advanced signal processing procedures. A significant proportion of the conference is therefore dedicated to signal processing and computational methods.

The aim of this book is to make an important contribution to the development of new functional and structural ceramic materials which exhibit enhanced performances and have improved lifetimes and reliability, by fostering a better understanding of the mechanisms of their deterioration and failure under various stress conditions and at various operating temperatures. The publication covers the topics of basic failure phenomena; indentation fracture; fracture and fractography of structural, electro- and bio- ceramics; fracture of fiber-reinforced composites; fracture of porous and laminated ceramics; defect - strength and microstructure - fracture toughness relationships; damage mechanisms in nanoceramics; Fracture and fractography of multilayered ceramics and coatings; machining cracks and edge-chipping; and the fracture and fractography of composites and nanocomposites.

The field of Residual Stresses is surprisingly large, and also highly interdisciplinary in nature, both with regard to its applications and to its scientific and technological fundamentals.

This volume contains papers selected from the more than 120 contributions presented during the 4th international conference on “Materials Structure & Micromechanics of Fracture (MSMF-4)”, in Brno, Czech Republic, June 23-25, 2004.

Recrystallization and grain growth, together with phase transformations such as precipitation, are the fundamental processes of microstructural evolution which take place during the thermomechanical processing of engineering materials. They are of major scientific interest and are of great importance in a wide range of industrial applications.

The Far East and Oceanic Fracture Society (FEOFS) and the Center for Physics and Chemistry of Fracture and Failure Prevention (PCFP) jointly organized a pair of conferences, FEOFS 2003 and 2nd ICPCF, on October 20-22 at Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.

Superplastic forming (SPF) has come a long way from its relatively recent history of being of interest only to the aerospace and aeronautical industries, and has made rapid inroads into applications in the automotive, rail, architectural, sports, dental and entertainment sectors.