Objective
Advanced alloys such as single crystal super alloys are now widely used in Industrial Gas Turbines and Aero-Engines. However, due to a lack of knowledge in the understanding of failure mechanisms, it is not possible, at the moment, to take full advantage of the high temperature capability of these materials without loss of safety . Previous research programmes have contributed to develop single crystals' knowledge and analytical/numerical tools, useful for the design improvement of turbo-machinery blade components. These tools are already of a great help to industrial practices but there are practical situations where they must be supplemented by taking into account more explicitly the crack propagation. The objective of the programme will be to complete the knowledge and the analytical/numerical tools in the field of short crack propagation and fracture analysis of single crystals for turbine blades and vanes .