Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics research in the Solid Mechanics and Materials research group, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford.

Studying fatigue and fracture of materials has been one of the core themes since a long time in the Solid Mechanics and Materials Engineering Group (SMMG). Built on the prior effort and expertise in fretting fatigue and fracture of aerospace materials, this area of research currently is fully equipped with testing facilities ranging from customised large servo-hydraulic fatigue testing apparatus that can be applied to complex geometries, to small-scale testing capabilities within a scanning electron microscope. The primary materials studied in this theme now includes an exciting range of advanced materials in the form of metals/alloys, polymers, ceramics as well as coatings and heterogeneously integrated materials systems. As these advanced materials often used in components operating under extreme environments such as elevated temperatures, cryogenic conditions, or subject to hydrogen embrittlement, corrosion or radiation damage, state-of-the-art experimental methods coupled with in situ imaging/diffraction characterisation as well as multiphysics and multiscale modelling have been developed to understand their deformation, fatigue and fracture behaviours. The overarching goal of this theme of research is to advance the understanding of the fundamental mechanisms controlling the deformation, fatigue and fracture of advanced engineering materials in relevant service conditions to support their industrial applications.