Summary

This book is an English version, expanded and brought up to date, of the Polish book published in 1984. It provides a comprehensive overview on the advanced methods of testing mechanical behaviour under non-standard conditions, such as: high pressure; complex stress states; high deformation rates; cyclic loading of the fatigue type; various advanced rheological tests; etc. Both new experimental techniques and interpretation methods of results are discussed. Recently developed optical methods of stress analysis are reviewed, including new holographic methods, progress in new branches of photoelasticity and Moire methods. Various figures and schemes of non-standard experimental devices are presented, with special attention being given to the authors' own results in experimental mechanics. Numerous examples of experiments are given based on new ideas which illustrate how advanced tests can be done in a relatively simple manner. Parts I - III discuss problems of resting plastic behaviour of metals, rheological properties of materials and problems of fatigue failure of metals.