Fracture mechanics
![The three fracture modes.](/Images/godic/202501/06/Fracture_modes_v2.svg2304.png")
![](/Images/godic/202501/06/EdgeCrack2D2304.png")
![The plastic zone around a crack tip in a ductile material](/Images/godic/202501/06/PlasticZone2D2304.png")
![The S.S. Schenectady split apart by brittle fracture while in harbor, 1943.](/Images/godic/202501/06/TankerSchenectady2304.jpg")
Fracture mechanics is the field of mechanics concerned with the study of the propagation of cracks in materials. It uses methods of analytical solid mechanics to calculate the driving force on a crack and those of experimental solid mechanics to characterize the material's resistance to fracture.