ABSTRACT
Any material for which a large amount of energy is required to cause failure is termed as a “tough material.” In various situations such as a material being struck by a projectile, a finite energy is required for failure. Also, loads arising due to temperature changes require only a finite strain so that the stresses become smaller. Under these conditions, toughness becomes the important criterion rather than the strength for determining the suitability of the material. In this chapter, the basics of fracture mechanics have been explained with special focus on the interfacial damage. The sources of energy absorption have been dealt with in detail. Finally, the slow crack growth in the composites is examined for the conditions where the fast fracture is not favored energetically.
