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A new fracture-toughness test method for thick-walled cylinder material

A new fracture-toughness test specimen is proposed. It provides for the utmost utilization of the available material of a thick-wall cylinder. Experimental and finite-element stress-intensity calibrations are presented

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Abstract

A new method for measuring the plane-strain fracture toughness of the material from a thick-walled cylinder is presented. This method utilizes a notched, “C”-shaped test specimen, pin loaded in tension. This specimen has the advantage of most efficiently utilizing the available material to obtain the maximum possible triaxial constraint at the crack tip.

Stress-intensity-factor calibrations for this specimen were obtained by two independent experiments. These are a compliance test, as originally proposed by Irwin, and a fatigue-crack-growth test, as suggested by James and Anderson. Very good agreement was obtained between the results of these two experiments.

A stress-intensity calibration for a similar geometry was also obtained using a finite-element analysis and a method developed by Kobayashi to determine stress-intensity factors from finite-element results. The results of this method appear to be low by about 10 percent.

Comparative fracture-toughness tests of material from a 2-in.-thick plate of special aircraft quality, 4340 steel, were conducted using the proposed new test method and the ASTM standard bend specimen. These results agreed within 2 percent.

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Abbreviations

a :

crack length (including notch), in

B :

specimen thickness, in

c :

specimen compliance or ratio of deflection to load per unit thickness, in.2/lb

E :

Young's modulus of elasticity, psi

\({\text{}}\) :

crack-extension force or strain-energy release rate, lb/in

G :

shear modulus of elasticity

K :

stress-intensity factor,\({\text{psi}}\sqrt {in.} or ksi \sqrt {in.} \)

K B :

stress intensity due to bending moment only

K f :

maximum value ofK I during fatigue load cycle

K I :

stress-intensity factor under opening-mode loading

K IC :

plane-strain fracture toughness as defined in Ref. 2 (A critical value ofK I for initial crack extension under plane-strain conditions)

K Q :

indicated fracture toughness obtained from specimen that does not meet size requirements of Ref. 2

K T :

stress intensity due to tensile load only

M :

bending moment, in.-lb

N :

number of fatigue cycles

P :

tensile force applied to specimen, lb

r, θ:

cylindrical coordinates with origin at the crack tip

R 1,R 2 :

inside and outside radius of cylinder, in

t :

cylinder-wall thickness, in

u, v :

displacements inx andy direction, respectively

X :

distance from loading line to bore, in. (see Fig. 1)

ν:

Poisson's ratio

σ y :

yields strength, psi

References

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  2. “Tentative Method of Test for Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials”, E 399-70T, ASTM Book of Standards, Part 31. 911–927 (July 1970).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Benet Research and Engineering Laboratories, Watervliet Arsenal, 12189, Watervliet, N.Y.

    D. P. Kendall & M. A. Hussain

Authors
  1. D. P. Kendall
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  2. M. A. Hussain
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Kendall, D.P., Hussain, M.A. A new fracture-toughness test method for thick-walled cylinder material. Experimental Mechanics 12, 184–189 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02330271

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