Abstract
Recent theoretical results in intrinsic brittleness and ductility like the mix-mode loading case and the influence of the crack crystallographic position are discussed from the engineering point of view. Both factors extremely change the intrinsic response of the crystal. The proposed statistical crystallographic evaluation based on the mean calibration coefficient yields results comparable with the predictions of various deterministic analyses based on both the Rice-Thomson and Kelly-Tyson-Cottrell approaches. This evaluation, however, corresponds directly to the macroscopic intrinsic response of the crack in a polycrystal. It seems to be useful also for a microscopic interpretation of the fracture toughness data of the metallic materials with texture.

Key words
intrinsic brittleness, ductility, crack, metallic materials

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