Status of research aimed at predicting structural integrity

摘要

Considerable research has been performed throughout the world in measuring the fracture toughness of metals. This capability fulfills the need encountered when selecting materials, thermal-mechanical treatments, welding procedures, etc., but needs to be expanded to include the ability to predict the fracture process of structural components containing cracks. The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have been collaborating for a number of years in developing capabilities for using fracture toughness results to predict structural integrity. Because of the high cost of fabricating and testing structural components, these studies have been limited to predicting the fracture process in specimens containing surface cracks. This paper summarizes the present status of the experimental studies of using fracture toughness data to predict crack growth initiation in specimens (structural components) containing surface cracks. These results are limited to homogeneous base materials.