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14 - Brittle Fracture and Impact Testing
14 - Brittle Fracture and Impact Testing
• Objective
• The brittle-fracture problem
• Notch-bar impact tests
• Ductile to metal transition temperature curve
• Metallurgical factors affecting transition temperature.
• Drop-weight test and other large scale tests
• Embrittlement in metals
Impact test
Failure of Liberty Ships during services in
World War II. To determine the susceptibility
The cause of failure was due to crack of materials to brittle behaviour.
initiated from defects in the welded area
and subjected to subzero temperature.
Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol May-Aug 2007
Notch bar impact test
• Notched bar test specimens are used in different sizes and
designs.
• The Charpy impact specimen is the most widely used.
• The parameter (energy absorption) obtained are not readily
expressed in terms of stress level, so it is difficult for design.
• Can use the test result to indicate how brittle the materials are.
The specimen is
hit by a pendulum
until fracture.
45 o
2 mm
www.twi.co.uk
Notch root radius of 0.25 mm
Charpy impact test diagram
DBTT curve
Transition
Lower shelf
Ductile tearing
Microvoids
Brittle fracture Mixed mode of brittle and ductile Microvoid coalescence in ductile
failures failure
Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol May-Aug 2007
Transition temperature
Different criteria are used to determine 1) T1 transition temp is the
the transition temperature, depending Temp at which fracture is
on the purpose of the application. 100% ductile (fibrous).
2) T2 transition temp is the
Temp at which fracture is
50% cleavage and 50%
ductile.
3) T3 transition temp is the
Temp at the average energy
absorption of upper and
lower shelves.
4) T4 transition temp is the
Temp defined at Cv = 20J.
5) T5 transition temp is the
Temp at which fracture is
Various criteria of transition temperature 100% cleavage.
obtained from Charpy test Note: FTP is fracture transition plastic
Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol May-Aug 2007
Metallurgical factors affecting
DBTT curves
• The shape and position of the DBTT curve is important
because it determines the transition temperature, which
indicates where it is safe to use for the required application.
• There are several factors affecting the DBTT curve.
• Crystal structure
• Interstitial atom
• Grain size
• Heat treatment
• Specimen orientation
• Specimen thickness
Ex: in steel
• Mn: C ratio should be at least
3:1 to satisfy notch toughness.
• P, Si, Mo, O raise the transition
temperature while Ni is beneficial
to notch toughness.
Absorbed energy, J
Large grain size
T3 T3
Temperature
• Reducing grain size shifts the DBTT curve to the left has a
wider range of service temperatures.
• Heat treatments that provide grain refinement such as air
cooling, recrystallisation during hot working help to lower
transition temperature.
Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol May-Aug 2007
Effect of heat treatment
• Tempered martensitic
structure steel produces the
best combination of strength
and impact toughness.
Tempering temperature
Energy absorption
Robertson crack-
arrest test.
• Temper embrittlement
• Hydrogen embrittlement
• Stress corrosion cracking
• Liquid metal embrittlement
• Neutron embrittlement