These volumes, 3 and 4, of Fracture Mechanics of Ceramics con- stitute the proceedings of an international symposium on the frac- ture mechanics of ceramics held at the Pennsylvania State Univer- sity, University Park, PA on July 27, 28, and 29, 1977. Volumes 1 and 2 were published previously as the proceedings of a sympo- sium of the same name held July 11, 12, and 13, 1973, also at Penn State. All four volumes published to date concentrate on the fracture aspects of the mechanical behavior of brittle'ceramics in terms of the characteristics of cracks. The program chairmen gratefully...

These volumes constitute the Proceedings of a Symposium ort the Fracture Mechanics of Cerarnics, held at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, July 11, 12, and 13, 1973. The theme of the symposium focussed on the mechanical behavior of brittle cerarnics in terms of the characteristics of cracks. The 52 contributed papers by 87 authors, present an overview of the cur rent understanding of the theory and application of fracture mechan ics to brittle cerarnics. The prograrn chairmen gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance for the Symposium provided by the...