International Journal of Damage Mechanics: Foreword

THIS SPECIAL ISSUE of the International Journal of Damage Mechanics contains the papers presented at the International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ICTAM), held in Warsaw, Poland in August 15–21, 2004. The guest editor would kindly like to acknowledge the authors and reviewers for their generous contribution. The prime aim of this issue is to sum up the latest advances in modeling and testing of advanced engineering materials, which reflect a combination of analytical, computational, and experimental methods. It is clear that the eight papers do not cover the whole subject; nonetheless, they give an appropriate impression about the recent progress and directions in the field. The presented papers address continuum modeling of several research topics: of anisotropic continuum damage in ductile metals; localized necking criterion for strain-softening materials; unilateral damage effect in low cycle fatigue, heterogeneous local damage in polycrystals under complex cyclic loading conditions; damage mechanics of steel fiber-reinforced concrete and masonry walls; and identification of damage evolution using full-field displacement measurements. In this issue only five papers are included, the three other papers will be published in the next issue of the journal. The guest editor would like to thank all the contributors for providing their papers. I also express my special thanks to Professor C. L. Chow of The University of Michigan – Dearborn, for giving me the opportunity to organize this issue. I hope that this volume is found to be interesting for the readers and serves to simulate further research in this important field. Finally, I immensely enjoyed the interaction with the present authors, reviewers, and the editor while preparing this issue.