Fracture of the materials and elements of steel structures

This article examines two of the six most common types of fracture of steel and steel structural elements: brittle fracture by cleavage and ductile fracture. The corresponding micromechanisms of fracture and the characteristic relief that is left on the fracture surface are also discussed. The most important and most interesting features of the behavior that the steel and the structural elements exhibit during service and fracture are noted. Among the topics here are a mechanical criterion for brittle fracture, rapid catastrophic ductile fracture, the participation of cleavage in the formation of lamellar cracks, and preventing the delayed fracture of high-strength bolts by altering the chemical composition of the steel.