ABSTRACT
Abstract The situation in the field of engineering fracture mechanics is characterized by a
wide and still increasing gap between the general knowledge in research institutes and what is actually applied in engineering practice. One of the sources of this unsatisfying situation might be the way this subject is taught to students of engineering: Since fracture mechanics is naturally a relatively difficult subject, many lecturers do not find the balance between a too superficial a treatment on one side and becoming lost in boring theoretical complications on the other. Many universities even do not offer courses in fracture mechanics at all. Therefore, in teaching as well as in application, one should look for convincing ways to unite simplicity and rationality. The key to this goal is introducing only as few as possible parameters, concentrating on their physical meaning, developing simple physical crack models that can be easily treated mathematically, and using them to establish a transparent theoretical framework. Keywords: Teaching, application, engineering fracture mechanics, physical models.
