ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses fracture; fatigue and creep are central issues regarding the mechanical behavior. Together with elastic and plastic deformation, they constitute the basic elements of mechanical behavior of metals. The chapter focuses on fracture, fatigue and creep of metals. Metals play a significant role in construction due to the excellent strength/toughness combination. Fracture mechanics provides the necessary tools to design metallic structures against the risk of brittle fracture. A central point in the study of the mechanical behavior of metals is the measurement of mechanical properties. The correlation between microstructure and properties is integrated with the effect of processing. Materials processing, including casting, deformation processing, heat treatment or surface treatment, affects the structure and consequently the mechanical properties and mechanical behavior of the metal. The basic characteristics of mechanical behavior are the following: elastic deformation; plastic deformation; fracture; fatigue; and creep.
