This communication gives an introduction to the Engineering Flaw Assessment
Method (EFAM) presently being developed at GKSS. The EFAM consists of vari
ous documents describing experimental procedures for determining fracture p
roperties under various conditions, as well as analytical procedures for es
timating the crack tip opening displacement in terms of delta(5), the rate
of delta(5), (d delta(5)/dt), and the J-integral as driving force parameter
s.