The fifth annual meeting of the Fracture Mechanics series (FM2007) has been planned to be held at the Changsha University of Science and Technology during October and November of 2007. This series started in 2003 and was organized by a consortium of academic and industrial institutions. They include the East China University of Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Technology, Zhejiang University and Zhejiang University of Technology in addition to General Machinery Research Institute. Professor Tu Shan- Dong serves as the Chairman of the FM series. Prof. G. C. Sih serves as the Chairman of the International Steering Committee.
The theme of Materials and Structural Safety is most appropriate for the transition of what started in FM2006 to be followed up in FM2007. The subject of Integrated Approaches will be continued with emphasize on application in three areas: civil engineering, petroleum chemical and nuclear power plants. Elevated temperatures and hostile environments cannot be avoided since they will influence permanent damage over a period of time even though stress levels might be below critical. This time-dependent behavior can be detrimental to the structural integrity. Void nucleation might seem to be a harmless process at first but it can lead to the development of micro-cavities and then to the eventual failure of bridge members, pipe work and pressure vessels, just to name a few of the possibilities. For added life with safety assurance, it is now an accepted realization that considerations must be given to damage at the different scales including those at the nano and micro scales.

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