Thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of interfacial decohesion are analyzed for a uniformly stressed interface in the presence of an embrittling impurity. During the interfacial separation, the impurity penetrates into the interface and reduces it cohesion. Rice (1976) and Hirth and Rice (1980) analyzed the thermodynamics of this process in great detail with emphasis on the limiting cases of infin...

Fusion power is generated when hot deuterium and tritium nuclei react, producing alpha particles and 14 MeV neutrons. These neutrons escape the reaction plasma and are absorbed by the surrounding material structure of the plant, transferring the heat of the reaction to an external cooling circuit. In such high-energy neutron irradiation environments, extensive atomic displacement damage and tra...

During the extraction, a portion of oil remains trapped inside the cells and its release requires the degradation of the walls and cell membranes, especially when the fruits have not reached a maximum maturity which is likely to cause an optimal embrittlement of the parietal structures and cell membrane. This can be done by specific enzymes necessary for the degradation of various cellular barr...

Duplex stainless steels are desirable for use in power generation systems because of their attractive combination of strength, corrosion resistance and cost. However, thermal embrittlement at intermediate homologous temperatures of 475 C and below, limits upper service temperatures for many applications. New lean grade duplex alloys have improved thermal stability over standard grades and poten...

Intergranular cracking associated with hydrogen embrittlement represents a particularly severe degradation mechanism in metallic structures which can lead to sudden and unexpected catastrophic fractures. As a basis for a strategy for the prognosis of such failures, here we present a comprehensive physical-based statistical micro-mechanical model of such embrittlement which we use to quantitativ...