Equation 23 · Why Materials Fail: Fracture, Flaws and the Inspection Interval
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Symbol K_Ic
c is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.
subscript
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The engineering signature is what makes it dangerous. Cracking proceeds at stress intensities far below , above a threshold conventionally denoted ; the applied stress can be residual rather than service-applied, and therefore invisible in a load analysis; and the crack can be tight, branched and intergranular, which is close to the worst case for detection. The review’s own summary of why prognosis remains hard is that “the intricate interplay among mechanical, chemical, and electrochemical factors hinders the accurate prognosis of material degradation”, compounded by inconsistent test methodologies across the literature [ 9 ] .
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