Properties and Testing of Materials

Determination of Fracture Toughness

Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials

Toughness
Toughness measurement by calculating the area
under the stress-strain curve from static tests
Material fractures occur by progressive cracking

Stress Concentration at crack

tip by Photo-elasticity

Notch Toughness

Defined as the ability of a material to absorb

energy, (usually when loaded dynamically) in the
presence of a flaw

Laboratory measurement of impact energy by

Charpy test (V-notch impact specimen)

Izod test
Dynamic tear test

The general purpose of the various kinds of notchtoughness tests is to model the behavior of actual
structures so that the laboratory test results can be
used to predict service performance.

Impact Energy
Introduction
Hardness

Impact Energy

Strength
Toughness

Laboratory measurement of impact energy

Charpy test
Izod test

Impact Energy
Charpy test

Charpy Impact Test

Stress concentrating
notch

Sensitivity of Impact Test Data

Test conditions
Notch sharpness
Nature of stress concentration at notch tip
Test temperature
Internal atomic structure of the material

Sensitivity of Impact Test Data

Ductile to brittle transition temperature

Most structural steels can fail in either a ductile or brittle manner depending on
several conditions such as temperature, loading rate, and constraint.
Ductile fractures are generally preceded by large amounts of plastic
deformation and usually occur at 45 to the direction of the applied stress.

Brittle or cleavage fractures generally occur with little plastic deformation and
are usually normal to the direction of the principal stress.

Ductile to brittle transition temperature

Why is it of great practical importance???

Alloy Loses toughness and it is susceptible

to catastrophic failure below this transition
temperature
It is a design criterion of great importance.
Several disastrous failures of ships occurred
because of this phenomenon.

Plane stress & Plane strain

E
s
1

1
s ( xxs s yys )
E
s
xx

s
ZZ
0

s
yy

1
s ( yys s xxs )
E

Microscopic Fracture Surface

Fracture Toughness
Fracture Toughness the most widely used
material property single parameter from
fracture mechanics.

It is represented by the symbol KIC, defined as

The critical value of the stress intensity factor
at crack tip necessary to produce catastrophic
failure under simple uni-axial loading.

Fracture Toughness
The value of Fracture Toughness is given by:
(1)

Y is a dimensionless geometry factor

f is the overall applied stress at failure
a is the length of the surface crack or one half of an internal crack
KIc have the units of MPam ( for plane strain conditions in which the
specimen thickness is comparatively large ).

Fracture Toughness
KIc (plane strain conditions).
Kc (plane stress conditions).
ASTM E 399

Failure Modes by cracking

Types of relative movements of two crack surfaces

The opening mode,
Mode I
The sliding or shear mode,
Mode II
The tearing mode,
Mode III

Failure Modes by cracking

The stress field at the crack tip can be

treated as one or a combination of
the three basic types of stress fields

Typical Fracture Toughness values

KIc Fracture toughness

KIc represents the inherent ability of a
material to withstand a given stress-field
intensity at the tip of a crack and to resist
progressive tensile crack extension
under plane-strain conditions.
KIc represents the fracture toughness of
the material and has units of (MN/m3/2).

KIc Fracture toughness

Is the material-toughness property depends on the particular material,
loading rate, and constraint as follows:
Kc = critical stress-intensity factor for static loading and plane-stress
conditions of variable constraint. Thus, this value depends on specimen
thickness and geometry& crack size.
KIc = critical-stress-intensity factor for static loading and plane-strain
conditions of maximum constraint. Thus, this value is a minimum value
for thick plates.
KId = critical-stress-intensity factor for dynamic (impact) loading and planestrain conditions of maximum constraint.

KIc Fracture toughness

Kc, KIc, or KId = C a ,
C = constant, function of specimen and
crack geometry,

= nominal stress, ksi (MN/m2),

a = flaw size, in. (mm).

Experimental determination of KIc

KIC test procedure

1 Determine critical specimen size dimensions
2 Select a test specimen and prepare shop drawing
3 Fatigue crack the test specimen (by cyclic loading)
4- Obtain test fixtures and displacement gauges
5- Alignment, positioning of loads, loading rate, friction, eccentricity,
6- Test record of the load displacement.
7- Measurements of specimen dimensions and fractures to calculate KQ
(B, S, W, a).
8- Analysis of P- records.
9- Calculation of conditional KIc (KQ).

KIC test procedure

1 Determine critical
specimen size dimensions

a crack depth

K Ic
2.5

ys

K Ic
B Specimen thickness 2.5

ys
W Specimen depth

K Ic
5.0

ys

CTS, Slow bend Specimens

KIC test procedure

2 Select a test specimen and prepare shop drawing

Specimen Design

KIC test procedure

3 Fatigue crack the test specimen (by cyclic loading)

KIC test procedure

4- Obtain test fixtures and displacement gauges
5- Alignment, positioning of loads, loading rate, friction,
eccentricity,

Gauges for CTS

Gauges for Slow bend test specimen

Testing Machine

Tensile cracking experimental setup

Instron Screw Machine

Pin grips

PC
MTS
Extensometer

AE
sensor

AE
System

Fracture Toughness Specimens

KIC test procedure

6- Test record of the load displacement.
7- Measurements of specimen dimensions and
fractures to calculate KQ (B, S, W, a).

8- Analysis of P- records.
9- Calculation of conditional KIc (KQ).

Load
Displacement Curve

P- test record 5% offset line

Determination of PQ

KIC test procedure

Calculation of conditional KIC (KQ) for SBTS
1
3
5
7
9

PQ S
2
2
2
2
2
2.9 a 4.6 a 21.8 a 37.6 a 38.7 a
KQ
3
W
W
W
W
B W 2 W

PQ = Load as determined
B = Thickness of specimen
S = Span length
W = Depth of specimen
a = Crack length as determined

KIC test procedure

Calculation of conditional KIC (KQ) for CTS
KQ

PQ
BW

1
3
5
7
9

2
2
2
2
2
a
a
a
a
a

29.6 185.5 655.7 1017.0 638.9

W
W
W
W
W

PQ = Load as determined
B = Thickness of specimen
W = Width of specimen
a = Crack length as determined

ASTM E 399 90
Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials
1- This test method covers the determination of the plane strain fracture
toughness (KIc) of metallic materials by tests using a variety of fatigue-cracked
specimens having a thickness of 0.063 in. (1.6 mm) or greater.
2- This test method also covers the determination of the specimen strength
ratio Rsx where x refers to the specific specimen configuration being tested. This
strength ratio is a function of the maximum load the specimen can sustain, its
initial dimensions and the yield strength of the material.
3- This test method is divided into two main parts. The first part gives general
information concerning the recommendations and requirements for KIc testing.
The second part is composed of annexes that give the displacement gage
design, fatigue cracking procedures, and special requirements for the various
specimen configurations covered by this method. In addition, an annex is
provided for the specific procedures to be followed in rapid-load plane-strain
fracture toughness tests.

ASTM E 399 90
Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials

ASTM E 399 90
Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials

ASTM E 399 90
Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials

ASTM E 399 90
Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials

ASTM E 399 90
Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials

ASTM C1018
Flexural Toughness and First Crack Strength of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (Using Beam With
Third Point Loading)

ASTM E 399 90
Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials

ASTM C1018
Flexural Toughness and First Crack Strength of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (Using Beam With
Third Point Loading)

ASTM C1018
Flexural Toughness and First Crack Strength of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (Using Beam With
Third Point Loading)

ASTM C1018
Flexural Toughness and First Crack Strength of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (Using Beam With
Third Point Loading)

RILEM 50-FMC

Determination of the Fracture Energy of Mortar and Concrete by Means of Three-Point Bend
Tests on Notched Beams

Alig.

Gf

(W0 mg 0 )
Alig .

N
m

J
2
m

W0 = area under the load deflection curve (N/m)

m = m1 + m2
= deformation at the final failure of the beam (m)
Alig. = area of the ligament at mid span (m2)

Thanks