Issue 50

Fracture and Structural Integrity, 50 (2019); ISSN 1971-9883 XII Special issue: “Research activities of the Greek Society of Experimental Mechanics of Materials” he present Special Issue of Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale entitled “Research activities of the Greek Society of Experimental Mechanics of Materials (GSEMM)” contains twenty (21) papers selected from the presentations delivered during the “1st International Conference of the GSEMM”, held in Athens from May 10 to May 12, 2018. This conference was the first official scientific activity of the GSEMM, which was founded in December 2016. The core founding objective of GSEMM is to strengthen the interaction between various research teams all over Greece and disseminate the outcomes of experimental protocols implemented by these teams. This was considered of crucial importance taking into account that Experimental Mechanics of Materials is among the most rapidly developing areas of Mechanics (mainly due to the extended use of novel and innovative techniques for the detection, collection and recording/storing of experimental data, and, also, due to the explosive development of computer science, which enables rapid analysis and exploitation of huge amounts of data). On the other hand, the effective implementation of experimental protocols becomes increasingly difficult from the technical point of view and expensive from the financial point of view, rendering the cooperation of research groups of interdisciplinary background a pressing demand. In Greece, there are quite a few research groups, which are actively and quite successfully involved in the field of Experimental Mechanics of Materials. In spite of this successful involvement, the interaction among these research groups is rather limited, resulting to waste of valuable resources, in both human and financial terms. As a matter of fact, similar experimental protocols are often implemented independently in various research centers, institutes or universities. To overcome this “malfunction” and accomplish all its founding objectives arising from its Statutes (production, promotion, gathering and dissemination of scientific knowledge on matters related to the field of Experimental Mechanics of Materials and training, education and know-how transfer at all levels concerning Experimental Mechanics of Materials) GSEMM intends (among others) to: Organize national and international scientific conferences and workshops, organize schools and seminars in the direction of training young scientists on subjects related to experimental research techniques, contribute in the organization of post-graduate courses in fields related to Experimental Mechanics of Materials, disseminate and promote the scientific work and achievements of its members, provide to its members information concerning research directions of high priority for the development of the country, participate in the implementation of national and international research projects, promote collaboration between Greek and international scientific societies of similar scope, and, finally, become member of European and international scientific associations of similar statutory purposes. It is very encouraging that the list of members of GSEMM encompasses already a unique group of experimentalists, development engineers, design engineers, test engineers and technicians, and research and development scientists from industry and educational institutions. GSEMM is already representing Greece in the European Structural Integrity Society (ESIS). The publication of this Special Issue closes the cycle of actions related to the “1st International Conference of the GSEMM”, which included, among others, publication of: • The “Book of Abstracts” (pages 210, ISSN: 2623-3541), which contains the two-page extended abstracts of all the seventy eight (78) presentations (oral and poster) accepted (after being reviewed) and delivered during the conference. • A special volume (Volume 10, Pages: 1-342, 2018) of the “Procedia Structural Integrity” journal, entitled “1st International Conference of the Greek Society of Experimental Mechanics of Materials, Athens, May 10-12, 2018”. This volume contained the 8-page full texts of fourty four (44) papers, presented during the conference. • The current Special Issue of Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale . The closure of this cycle designates the onset of a new cycle of activities of GSEMM, which for the Academic Year 2019- 2020 are oriented in three directions: