MICROMECHANISMS OF BRITTLE-FRACTURE

Mechanical processes operating in materials on the scale of the microstructure have come to be called ''micromechanisms.'' The fundamental science and the micromechanisms of brittle fracture are reviewed here, with particular emphasis on cleavage and intergranular fracture. Extant micromechanisms for these fracture types are evaluated. The role of solutes, particularly in intergranular fracture, is also discussed in terms of the fundamentals of brittle fracture.