Fracture toughness assessment of surface cracks in slender ultra-high-strength steel plates

• Safe design against unstable fractures in load-bearing structures is crucial at sub-zero temperatures where the brittle fracture toughness can be unfavourable, especially for high-stress designs incorporating ultra-high-strength steels. The brittle fracture toughness of surface cracks in structural steel with a minimum yield strength of 1300 MPa is, for this reason, tested in the present study at sub-zero temperatures. The realistic flaws are compared with single-edge notched specimens (SEN(B)) from thicker plates with the same chemical composition, using a representative fracture toughness for a three-dimensional crack front according to the Master Curve method. A novel approach determines the latter without considering the local temperature and constraint variation through empirical relations. The experimental result shows a difference in the reference temperature between the two specimen types, which likely is the natural variation of the manufactured materials and/or a loss of constraint due to the difference in the scaled specimen deformation level.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Teknisk mekanik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Applied Mechanics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Brittle fracture

Fracture toughness

Master Curve method

Surface flaw

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

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