The Claude Bernard International Lecture

Jean-Baptiste Leblond was engineer in chief of the Mines and Lecturer at the Polytechnic School, before joining the University Pierre and Marie Curie where he is currently a professor of exceptional class. The work of Professor Leblond relates to the mechanics of the solids and more particularly the digital simulation of welding and the thermomechanical processes, as well as the fragile and ductile breaking process.

In modern materials science, fracture mechanics is an important tool in improving the mechanical performance of materials and components. It applies the physics of stress and strain, in particular the theories of elasticity and plasticity, to the microscopic crystallographic defects found in real materials in order to predict the macroscopic mechanical failure of bodies.

This talk will be devoted to a survey of modern approaches to phenomena of fracture and damage of solids, with special emphasis on applications to engineering problems. Three fields will be reviewed: linear elastic fracture mechanics, ductile rupture of metals, and continuum damage mechanics.

The presentation of each of these domains will include a brief historical survey, a summary of the foundations of the theory, and a discussion of some typical, classical or more advanced applications.