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Memorial Tributes Volume 10 (2002) / Chapter Skim
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George R. Irwin
Pages 146-153

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From page 147...
... Martin Professor of Engineering at the University of Maryland and professor emeritus of Lehigh University, died of congestive heart failure at his home in College Park, Maryland, on October 9, 1998. The Father of Fracture Mechanics, he was internationally known for his study of fracture and his ability to convert his scientific concepts into engineering methods applicable to a wide range of industrial applications involving a variety of structural materials.
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From page 148...
... The new experimental method enabled the Ballistic Branch at NRL, under George's direction, to develop several nonmetallic armors that were used for fragmentation protection in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. George's interest in brittle fracture was initiated by his observation of armor plate, which chipped and cracked in a brittle manner during proof firings involving thick plates.
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From page 149...
... Even more important, he showed, in the common case when the zone of nonelastic deformation occupied only a small region surrounding the crack tip, that the mathematical equations of elasticity have singular solutions for the stress fields near the tips of the cracks. These solutions were of a universal form involving a multiplying factor, now termed a "stress intensity factor" proportional to the loading.
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From page 150...
... W Hutchinson, Harvard University, on the development of fracture mechanics procedures in the presence of substantial ductility; Jim Rice, Harvard University, on developing the J integral approach for characterizing the onset of crack growth in ductile materials; L
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From page 151...
... Navy Conrad Award Alumni Achievement Award, University of Illinois SESA Murray Lectureship Award Lehigh University Academic Leadership Award ASTM honorary member American Society for Metals Sauveur Award The Grande Medaille Award of the French Metallurgical Society of France 1977 ASME Nadai Award 1977 B
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From page 152...
... . nglneerlng George is survived by his wife, Georgia Shearer Irwin, of College Park, Maryland; four children, Mary Susan Gillett of Dunkirk, Maryland, Sarah Lofgren of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, Joseph R
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From page 153...
... He shared his ideas and was pleased to see others develop his initial concepts. Our research group often gathered in his office to (liscuss our ongoing work in the dynamics of fracture I will always remember his quiet ability to keep us on track and to guide us through difficulties.
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Key Terms

  • lehigh university
  • knox college
  • fracture mechanics
  • crack growth
  • stress intensity

  • intensity factor
  • college park
  • achievement award
  • critical stress
  • brittle materials

  • locally concentrated
  • georgia shearer
  • alumni achievement
  • fracture process
  • singular solutions

  • nonmetallic armors
  • shell structures
  • mechanical engineers
  • armor plate
  • establish fracture

  • civilian service
  • substantial ductility
  • crack formation
  • tip characterizing
  • material property

  • chemical attack
  • region surrounding
  • subcritical crack
  • attended knox
  • susan gillett


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