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STEEL CONSTRUCTION:
APPLIED METALLURGY

Lecture 2.3.2: Advanced Engineering

Properties of Steels
OBJECTIVE/SCOPE
To provide a sequel to Lecture 2.3.1, introducing toughness as an important engineering
property.
PREREQUISITES
Lecture 2.3.1: Introduction to the Engineering Properties of Steels
RELATED LECTURES
Lecture 2.1: Characteristics of Iron Carbon Alloys
Lecture 2.2: Manufacturing and Forming Processes
SUMMARY
This lecture introduces the phenomena of ductile and cleavage fracture and the
engineering property of toughness. It summarizes the influences of temperature loading
rate, multi-axial stress conditions and geometry on toughness. It introduces the notched
impact bend test as the most common means of monitoring toughness. It introduces linearelastic and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. It presents the wide plate test and assessment
techniques based on fracture mechanics. It summarizes the means of obtaining an
optimum combination of strength and toughness. It introduces the concept of fatigue, the
principal influences on fatigue behaviour, and the means of ensuring adequate fatigue
endurance.

1. TOUGHNESS
Metals often show quite acceptable properties when small smooth bar specimens are tested
in tension at ambient temperature and at slow loading rates. However they fail in a brittle
manner when large components are loaded or when the loading is performed at low
temperatures or applied rapidly. Susceptibility to brittle fracture is enhanced if notches or
other defects are present. Resistance to brittle fracture is commonly referred to as
toughness.

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Metals with a body-centred cubic lattice, e.g. pure iron and ferritic steels have the
unfortunate characteristic that their fracture mechanism undergoes a dramatic transition
with decreasing temperature from a tough ductile mode in the higher temperature region to
a brittle cleavage mode at lower temperatures. Face-centred cubic metals, e.g. copper,
aluminium and austenitic steels, do not fail by cleavage under all loading conditions and at
all temperatures.

1.1 Types of Fracture

Ductile fracture involves the formation, growth and coalescence of voids. A simple
analogy is the fracture of plasticene or putty containing particles of sand. The voids form
around precipitates or non-metallic inclusions, Figure 1. The ductility or toughness of the
material is basically dependent on the volume fraction of the void nucleating particles, i.e.
the proportion of sand in the previous analogy. The amount of deformation prior to rupture
and thus the toughness of the material increases with its purity.

The macroscopic orientation of a ductile fracture surface may vary from 90 to 45 to the
direction of the applied stress. In thick sections most of the fracture surface tends to be
oriented at 90 to the direction of the applied tensile stress. However, ductile fractures
commonly have a "shear-tip" near a free boundary as the transverse stresses reduce to zero
causing the plane of maximum shear to be at 45 to the direction of the applied stress.
Cleavage fracture occurs in body-centred cubic metals when the maximum principal
stress exceeds a critical value, the so-called microscopic cleavage fracture stress f.
Certain crystallographic planes of atoms are separated when the stress is sufficiently high
to break atomic bonds. Crystallographic planes with low packing densities are preferred as
cleavage planes. In steels the preferred change planes are the bee cube planes.
The fracture surface lies perpendicular to the maximum principal stress and appears
macroscopically flat and crystalline. When viewed by eye a cleavage fracture usually

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displays characteristic chevron markings which point back to the origin of the fracture.
When brittle fracture occurs in a large structure, such markings can be invaluable in
identifying the site of crack initiation. When viewed in the microscope, cleavage cracks
can be seen to pass through the grains along preferred crystallographic planes
(transgranular cleavage).
If grain boundaries are weakened by precipitates or by the enrichment of foreign atoms,
cleavage cracks can also propagate along grain boundaries (intergranular cleavage).

1.2 Influence of Temperature, Loading Rate, Multi-axiality and Geometry

Temperature influences fracture behaviour mainly due to its effect on yield strength and
the transition from ductile to cleavage fracture. Figure 2 shows schematically the yield
strength and the microscopic cleavage fracture stress as a function of temperature for a
ferritic steel. The yield strength falls with increasing temperature, whereas the cleavage
fracture stress is hardly influenced. The transition temperature is defined by the
intersection between the yield strength and cleavage fracture strength curves. At lower
temperatures specimens fail without previous plastic deformation (brittle fracture).
Somewhat above the transition temperature, cleavage fracture can still occur due to the
effect of deformation induced work hardening. At higher temperatures cleavage is not
possible and the fracture becomes fully ductile.

The yield strength rises with increasing loading rate (marked with dashed line in Figure 2)
whereas the microscopic cleavage fracture stress shows almost no strain rate dependence.
This rise causes the ductile-brittle transition temperature to move to higher values at
higher rates of loading. Thus, an increase of loading rate and a reduction of temperature
have the same adverse effect on toughness.
A multi-axial stress state has an important influence on the transition from ductile to
cleavage fracture. A triaxial state of stress, in which the three principal stresses 1, 2 and

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3 are all positive (but not equal), inhibits or constrains the onset of yielding. Under these
conditions, yielding occurs at a higher stress than that observed in a uniaxial or biaxial
state of stress. This situation is illustrated in Figure 3 where it can be seen that the
transition temperature arising from the intersection of the cleavage and yield strength
curves is shifted to a higher temperature, i.e. the metal has become more brittle.

The most familiar situation in which multi-axial states of stress are encountered in steel
structures is in association with notches or cracks in thick sections. The stress
concentration at the root of the notch gives rise a local region of triaxial stresses even
through the applied loading may be uni-directional (Figure 4).

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1.3 Notched Impact Bend Test

The notched impact bend test is the most common test for the assessment of susceptibility
to brittle fracture because it is inexpensive and quickly performed. 10mm square bars with
a machined notch, (ISO-V or Charpy specimens), are struck by a calibrated pendulum.
The energy absorbed from the swinging pendulum during deformation and fracture of the
test specimen is used as a measure of the impact energy. The notch impact energy consists
of elastic and plastic deformation work, fracture energy and kinetic energy of the broken
pieces.
Figures 5 and 6 show the notch impact energy as a function of testing temperature. At low
temperatures the failure of ferritic steels occurs by cleavage fracture giving a lustrous
crystalline appearance to the fracture surface. At high temperatures failure occurs by
ductile fracture after plastic deformation. In the transition range small amounts of ductile
fracture are found close to the notch but, due to the elevated stresses near the crack tip, the
fracture mechanism changes to cleavage. Throughout the transition range the amount of
cleavage fracture becomes less and the notch impact energy rises as the testing
temperature increases.

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In order to characterise the transition behaviour, a transition temperature is defined as the

temperature at which:

a defined value of the notch impact energy is reached (eg. T27J, T40J),
half of the maximum impact energy value is reached (T50%), or
50% ductile fracture is observed on the fracture surface (FATT 50: Fracture
Appearance Transition Temperature, 50% ductile fracture).

The impact energy values obtained show a high amount of scatter in the transition area
because here the results depend on the local situation ahead of the crack tip. Beyond this
area, scatter becomes less because there is no change of fracture mechanism.
The notched impact bend test gives only a relative measure of toughness. This measure is
adequate for defining different grades of toughness in structural steels and for specifying
steels for well established conditions of service. For the assessment of known defects and
for service situations where there is little experience of brittle fracture susceptibility, a
quantitative measure of toughness which can be used by design engineers is provided by
fracture mechanics.

1.4 Fracture Toughness

Fracture mechanics provides a quantitative description of the resistance of a material to
fracture. The fracture toughness is a material property which can be used to predict the
behaviour of components containing cracks or sharp notches. The fracture toughness
properties are obtained by tests on specimens containing deliberately introduced cracks or
notches and subjected to prescribed loading conditions.
Depending on the strength of the material and the thickness of the section, either linearelastic (LEFM) or elastic-plastic fracture mechanics (EPFM) concepts are applied.

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The Linear-Elastic Fracture Mechanics Approach
The stress intensity factor KI describes the intensity of the elastic crack tip stress field in a
thick, deeply cracked specimen loaded perpendicular to the crack plane.
KI = Y

(1)

where
- is the nominal stress
a - is the crack depth
Y - is the correction function dependent on the crack and test piece geometry
The critical value of the stress intensity factor for the onset of crack growth is the fracture
toughness KIC.
Another material property obtained from linear-elastic fracture mechanics is the energy
release rate GI. It indicates how much elastic strain energy becomes free during crack
propagation. It is determined according to Equation (2):
GI = Y2 2 a / E = K12 / E

(2)

where
E - is the Young's modulus
Analogous to the stress intensity factor, crack growth occurs when G I reaches a critical
value GIc.

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The fracture toughness properties KIc and GIc are determined with fracture mechanics
specimens, generally as shown in Figures 7 and 8.

The great value of the fracture toughness parameters KIc and GIc is that once they have
been measured for a particular material, Equations (1) and (2) can be used to make
quantitative predictions of the size of defect necessary to cause a brittle fracture for a
given stress, or the stress which will precipitate a brittle fracture for a defect of known
size.

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As the designation implies, linear elastic fracture mechanics is applicable to materials
which fracture under elastic conditions of loading. The fracture phenomena in high
strength quenched and tempered steels are of this type. In lower strength structural steels,
extensive plasticity develops at the notch root before failure occurs. This behaviour
invalidates many of the assumptions of linear elastic fracture mechanics and makes testing
difficult or not meaningful. In such cases elastic-plastic fracture mechanics must be
applied.
There are two alternative techniques of elastic-plastic fracture mechanics:
1. Crack Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD)
2. J Integral
Their essential features are summarised below.
The Elastic-Plastic Fracture Mechanics Approach
A consequence of plasticity developing at the tip of a previously sharp crack is that the
crack will blunt and there will be an opening displacement at the position of the original
crack tip. This is the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD). As loading continues, the
CTOD value increases until eventually a critical value c is attained at which crack growth
occurs.
The critical crack tip opening displacement is a measure of the resistance of the material to
fracture, i.e. it is an alternative measurement of fracture toughness.
For materials which exhibit little plasticity prior to failure, the critical CTOD, c, can be
related to the linear elastic fracture toughness parameters KIc and GIc as follows:
KIc2 = E.Gk / (1 - mE.y.c / (1 -
where
E - is Youngs modulus
y - is the uniaxial yield strength
- is Poissons ratio
m - is a constraint factor having a value between 1 and 3 depending on the state
of stress at the crack tip.
Another way of taking account of crack tip plasticity is the determination of the J-integral.
J is defined as a path-independent line-integral through the material surrounding the crack
tip. It is given by:

J=-

(3)

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where
U - is the potential energy
B - is the specimen thickness
a - is the crack length

U=

(4)

F - is the load
Vg - is the total displacement
Since the determination of J is difficult, approximate solutions are used in practice.

J=

(5)

where
b=w-a
=2

(for SENB-specimens)

= 2 + 0,522 b/w

(for CT-specimens)

The critical value of J is a material characteristic and is denoted JIc. For the linear elastic
case, JIc is equal to GIc.

1.5 Fitness for Purpose

Conventional assessment of components is based on a comparison of design resistance
with applied actions. Toughness criteria are generally satisfied by the appropriate selection
of material quality, as discussed in Lecture 2.5. However there are situations where a more
fundamental assessment has to be carried out because of:

onerous service conditions.

defects during manufacture.
defects, e.g. fatigue cracks, developing during previous service life.

Such assessments can be performed by different methods. If the component is small, it

may be possible to test it. For large or unique structures, such as bridges or offshore
platforms, this method of producing the most realistic data has to be excluded. Tests on
representative details of a component may be performed, if the simulation of the real
structure is done carefully, e.g. accounting for specific service conditions including the

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geometry of the structure and discontinuities, loading rate, service temperature and
environmental conditions. A typical example of such a test method is the wide plate test,
which is discussed below.
Fracture mechanics concepts have been developed to assess the safety of components
containing cracks. Depending on the overall behaviour of the component (linear-elastic or
elastic-plastic) different methods can be used for failure assessment.
1.5.1 Wide plate testing
During the last 20 years, large flat tensile specimens, so-called wide plates, have been
used to simulate a relatively simple detail of a tension loaded large structure. A main
objective of wide plate testing is the evaluation of the deformation and fracture behaviour
of a specimen under service conditions. The second reason for this kind of test is the
application of test results for the development and checking of failure assessment
methods, e.g. fracture mechanics methods.

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Wide plate tests require testing facilities with high loading capacities due to the fact that
such tests are usually carried out at full thickness. The maximum dimensions of wide
plates tested on large test rigs with a load capacity of up to 100MN are as follows:

specimen width W 3000mm

specimen thickness to 300mm
specimen length l 5000mm

Figure 9 shows different types of specimen containing discontinuities for tests on the base
metal or welded joints. The discontinuities may be through-thickness or surface notches or
cracks. The configuration of the plate is usually chosen according to the specific structural
situation to be assessed.

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Stress or strain criteria can be used as safety criteria which must be fulfilled to assure the
safety of a specific structural element. The production of a given amount of overall strain
is in some cases used as the failure criterion. The gross-section-yielding concept requires
that gross-section-yielding (GSY) occurs prior to fracture. Based on this concept, wide
plates with different crack lengths are tested under similar loading conditions to determine
a critical crack length just fulfilling the GSY-criterion. Figure 10 shows the ratio of the
maximum gross-section stress in the structure to ultimate tensile strength as a function of
the crack length ratio 2a/W of centre-notched wide plates. The upper limit line describes
the theoretical maximum stress, if the ultimate tensile strength is reached in the crosssection containing the discontinuity. All test results show lower values than are implied by
the theoretical line, resulting from the important influence of toughness in the presence of
discontinuities. Only in the case of infinite toughness can the theoretical line be reached.
The intersection of the experimentally determined curve and the yield strength line marks
the critical crack length ratio 2ac/W. As long as the 2a/W ratio is smaller than the critical
ratio, the GSY-criterion is fulfilled. Unfortunately, the critical 2ac/W ratio depends
strongly on the dimensions of the crack and the plate, so that different types of cracked
components always require a series of specific wide plate tests. This concept is therefore
only used if other concepts cannot be applied.
1.5.2 Fracture mechanics concepts
The basis of a fracture mechanics safety analysis is the comparison between the crack
driving force in a structure and the fracture toughness of the material evaluated in small
scale tests. The application of one of the concepts depends on the overall behaviour of the
structure which may be linear-elastic (K-concept) or elastic-plastic (CTOD- or J-Integralconcepts). For a safe structure the crack driving force must be less than the fracture
toughness. In general the toughness values of the material are evaluated according to
existing standards. The crack driving force can be calculated on the basis of analytical
solutions (K-concept), empirical or semi-empirical approaches (CTOD-Design-Curve
approach, CEGB-R6-procedures) or using numerical solutions (indirectly: EPRIhandbook, directly: finite-element calculations). The different methods are explained
briefly below:

K-concept

The K-concept can be applied in the case of linear-elastic component behaviour. The crack
driving force, the so-called stress intensity factor KI, defined in Section 1.4, has been
evaluated for a large range of situations and calculation formulae are for example given in
the stress-analysis-of-cracks handbook.
Usually the critical fracture toughness KIc of the material is evaluated according to the
ASTM standard E399 or the British Standard BS5447. Brittle failure can be excluded as
long as:
KI < KIc
For a given fracture toughness the critical crack length or stress level can be calculated
from:

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ac =

c =

CTOD-Design-Curve approach

A critical crack length or stress level can be determined using the limit curve of the
CTOD-Design-Curve approach for the driving force assessment together with measured
values of CTODcrit for the material. The limit curve has been adopted by standards, e.g.
the British Standard BS-PD 6493. The latest version of the limit curve is shown in Figure
11 and can be used for:
2a/W 0,5 and net YS.

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Analysis can only be performed under global elastic conditions (net YS) although local
plastic deformation may occur in front of a crack tip which is accounted for in the CTODvalue of the material.

CEGB-R6-routines

The CEGB-R6-routines can be used to assess the safety of structures for brittle and ductile
component behaviour. The transition from linear-elastic to elastic-plastic behaviour is
described by a limit curve in a failure analysis diagram (Figure 12). The ordinate value K r
can be regarded as any of three equivalent ratios of applied crack driving force to material
fracture toughness as follows:

Kr =

Other methods

Other methods are emerging. The Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI) in New York
has used a detailed analysis by finite elements to determine limiting J contour values for

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standard geometries. Alternatively the J contour values may be obtained by direct finite
element analysis of the particular situation.

2. OPTIMAL COMBINATION OF STRENGTH AND

TOUGHNESS
Preceding sections have described the influence of the micro structure on strength and
toughness using metallurgical mechanisms. Chemical and physical metallurgy can change
microstructural characteristics so that optimum strength and toughness requirements may
be obtained. By combining the various treatments it is possible to achieve a wide range of
steel properties (Figure 13):

Chemical metallurgy treatments

Variation of the chemical composition of a steel by adding alloying elements aims to

increase strength and/or increase resistance to brittle fracture. Solid solution hardening
generally lowers toughness and is not widely employed. Precipitation hardening also
increases strength and decreases toughness. The addition of manganese and nickel
produces a small increase in strength due to solution hardening but a more significant

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reduction is impact transition temperature due to grain refinement (Figure 14). Alloying
with the micro-alloying elements Niobium, (Nb) Vanadium (V) and Titanium (Ti)
producing carbides and nitrides simultaneously raises strength by precipitation hardening
and toughness by grain refinement. Decreasing the content of elements such as S and P
improves the degree of purity, which has positive effects on toughness and weldability.

Physical metallurgy treatments

The microstructure of a steel can be greatly affected by heat treatment or forming.

Correctly chosen temperature, degree of deformation, time between deformation steps and
cooling rate can reduce the grain size and control the state of precipitation, thus raising
toughness and strength (Figure 15).
This combination of heat treatment and forming known as thermo-mechanical treatment
leads to even better results if micro-alloying elements such as V or Nb are added, causing
additional grain refinement with improved toughness and strength properties.

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3. FATIGUE PROPERTIES
When considering the response of metallic materials to cyclic loading, it is essential to
distinguish between components such as machined parts, which are initially free of
defects, and those such as castings and welded structures, which inevitably contain preexisting defects. The fatigue behaviour of these two types of component is quite different.
In the former case, the major part of the fatigue life is spent in initiating a crack; such
fatigue is 'initiation-controlled'. In the second type of component, cracks are already
present and all of the fatigue life is spent in crack propagation; such fatigue is
'propagation-controlled'.
For a given material, the fatigue strength is quite different depending on whether the
application is initiation- or propagation-controlled. Also the most appropriate material
solution may be quite different depending on the application. For example with initiationcontrolled fatigue, the fatigue strength increases with tensile strength and hence it is
usually beneficial to utilise high strength materials. On the other hand, with propagationcontrolled fatigue, the fatigue resistance may actually decrease if a higher strength
material is employed.

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3.1 Initiation-Controlled Fatigue

3.1.1 Testing
The fundamental diagram in fatigue testing is the Whler or S-N-diagram (Figure 16).
Specimens are exposed to cyclic loading with a constant amplitude and the number of
cycles to fracture is recorded. This parameter is plotted against the corresponding stress
amplitude with a double- or semi-logarithmic scale. The diagram is divided into two parts.
In the first part, life time increases with decreasing alternating stress amplitude. In the
second part for most-ferritic steels the curve becomes horizontal and defines a 'fatigue
limit' stress below which failure can never occur. The transition or 'knee' between the two
parts of the curve lies between 3 and 10 x 106 cycles, depending on the material. For other
alloys, e.g. fcc-metals, which do not show a fatigue limit, an 'endurance limit' is defined as
the stress amplitude corresponding to a life of 107 cycles.

One characteristic feature of fatigue properties is the wide scatter of results under constant
testing conditions. Therefore 6-10 experiments must be performed for each stress
amplitude. The analysis is done by means of statistical evaluation leading to different S-N
curves for various life time probabilities (10%, 50%, 90% curves).

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3.1.2 Fatigue damage

Crack-free stage

During the first 104 stress cycles, although the loading is nominally elastic, dislocation
activity occurs in localised areas and leads to the formation of bands of localised plastic
deformation known as "persistent slip bands" (PSB).

Crack initiation

Crack initiation generally takes place within the persistent slip bands. In the case of pure
metals, crack initiation usually occurs at the surface. In commercial quality materials,
crack initiation usually occurs at non-metallic inclusions or other impurities which act as
microscopic sites of strain concentration.

Crack propagation

Once initiated the crack propagates through the first few grains in the direction of
maximum shear stress, i.e. at 45 to the normal stress. When the crack has attained a
length of a few grain diameters, continued propagation is controlled by the cyclic stress
intensity field at the crack tip and the crack path becomes oriented at 90 to the maximum
principal stress direction. Although the major part of the fatigue life is spent in crack
initiation, this is not apparent from examination of the fracture surface where only the
final propagation stage can be seen.
3.1.3 Influences of various parameters
The relationships between initiation-controlled fatigue strength and other parameters are
complex and sometimes only known qualitatively. Nevertheless they are of great
importance for material selection and dimensioning of structural parts. Therefore a number
of different parameters are discussed below with respect to their influence on fatigue
properties.

Loading: Different loading conditions include cyclic tension and compression,

cyclic torsion, cyclic bending and any possible combination of these. As discussed
in the context of yielding in Section 2.3 of Lecture 2.3.1, such complex stresses
can be combined by means of the Hencky-von Mises expression to generate an
equivalent stress which can be compared with the fatigue strength obtained from
uniaxial loading.
Mean stress: Fatigue strength is reduced by tensile mean stress and increased by
compressive mean stress.
Frequency: For most materials no influence is observed over a wide range. Some
alloys show a smaller life time for lower frequencies because corrosion effects
interfere.
Microstructure: The influence of microstructural modification on fatigue strength
is similar to that on tensile strength. In general fatigue strength increases in
proportion to tensile strength. For example, for a wide range of wrought steels, the
fatigue strength is between 40% and 50% of the tensile strength. Improved purity
raises fatigue strength.

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Residual stresses: As with mean stress effects, compressive residual stress

improves fatigue strength, whereas internal tensile stress has the opposite effect.
To optimise fatigue strength, surface compressive residual stress is generated by
techniques such as shot peening, and surface rolling.
Surface: Surface finish has a large influence on fatigue; the smoother the surface
the better the fatigue strength. The treatment of surfaces during manufacturing
often causes strain hardening and compressive residual stresses which both
increase fatigue strength. The influence of notches is described under "Geometry".
Geometry: Notches and changes of section act as sites of stress concentration and
hence have a considerable influence on fatigue properties. For large smooth
notches, the stress concentration must be evaluated and incorporated in the fatigue
analysis. Sharp notches behave as crack-like defects and cause the fatigue
behaviour to be propagation-controlled.
Welding: Welding inevitably generates small crack-like defects which greatly
lower the fatigue strength and cause the fatigue to be propagation- controlled.
Corrosion: Exposure to a corrosive environment facilitates both crack initiation
and propagation. Consequently the fatigue strength is reduced. The fatigue limit in
steels may be eliminated in a corrosive element.

3.1.4 Fatigue limit under actual service conditions

The S-N diagram characterises material behaviour under single-amplitude loading. For
weight-saving constructions exposed to complex stresses, the parameters determined by
such tests are not sufficient.
For testing under realistic conditions, an analysis of the actual stresses has to be obtained.
For that purpose the sequence and duration of different stress levels, as well as their rise or
fall, are recorded. This stress-time function is either reproduced under laboratory
conditions, or special testing programmes are calculated from these data and used in
experiments. Results obtained by this method cannot be transferred to different materials
and loading conditions.
3.1.5 Prediction of cumulative damage
The fundamental method of life time cumulative damage prediction was formulated by
Miner. The damage from each cycle at a certain stress level is defined as the reciprocal
value of the number of cycles to fracture (1/Ni). Fracture occurs when the sum of cycles at
each level (ni) related to the number of cycles to failure (Ni) is equal to unity. The
mathematical expression is:

Since this is a very simple equation, results are widely scattered. In reality the values form
a Gaussion distribution with a maximum around 1. To guarantee safe construction,
calculations are made with factors smaller than 1 and stresses below their maximum
values. Furthermore it is possible to take the effects of different loading levels into
account with respect to their number, maximum stress and sequence.

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3.2 Propagation-Controlled Fatigue

Steel castings, rough forgings and welded structures invariably contain surface
imperfections which behave as minute crack-like defects which effectively eliminate the
crack-initiation stage in fatigue. Consequently the whole of the fatigue life is concerned
with crack propagation. The rate of crack advance is determined by the cyclic stress
intensity Kr which is the cyclic equivalent of the stress intensity factor KI defined in
Section 1.5.
KI = Y
where
- is the cyclic stress range
a - is the crack depth
Y - is the correction function dependent on the crack and test piece geometry.
The rate of crack propagation is then given by the following relationship which is known
as Paris' Law:

= C KIm
N = Number of cycles
C - is a material constant which is inversely proportional to Young's modulus E.
The power m has a value of about 3 for most metallic materials.
The advantage of the fracture mechanics description of crack propagation is that the rate
equation can be integrated to determine the number of cycles required for a crack to
propagate from some initial length ai to same final length af. Thus for m = 3;
Nf = 2 (1/ai - 1/af ) / (CY333/2)
ai may be a known crack size or an NDT limit, af may be a critical defect size for
unstable fracture or a component dimension such as the wall thickness of a vessel.
In the above equation for the fatigue life, the constant C is dependent on the type of
material but is not sensitive to variations in microstructure or strength level. Consequently,
for a given cyclic stress range, , the fatigue life is independant of the strength of the
material. If, however, the stress range increases in proportion to the material yield
strength, then the fatigue life will be less for the higher strength material. For example, a
two-fold increase in stress range produces almost a ten-fold reduction in fatigue life. This
is a major constraint on the utilisation of higher strength structural steels for fatigue
dominated applications.

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The fatigue behaviour of welded joints is propagation-controlled. However it is
impracticable to apply a fracture mechanics analysis because the initial defect size cannot
be evaluated and the cyclic stress range is amplified by local stress concentration effects
associated with the weld profile. Instead the fatigue strength is determined experimentally
for the range of weld types and welding processes which are commonly employed in
welded structures. This data is presented as a series of S-N curves for different weld
classifications as shown in Figure 16.
The fatigue strength of welded joints is not sensitive to the strength of the parent plate.
Consequently, as explained previously, it is difficult to take full advantage of higher
strength steels in welded structures where there is significant exposure to cyclic loading.

4. CONCLUDING SUMMARY

Steels may fail by unacceptable brittle fracture.

Satisfactory ductility has generally to be achieved by ensuring ductile rather than
cleavage fracture.
The tendency for brittle fracture increases in:

Reducing temperature
Increasing strain rate
Multi-axial tension
Geometric discontinuities causing stress concentrations.

Fracture mechanics is a valuable means of quantifying the resistance of a material

to fracture.
The notched impact bend test (Charpy test) is a cost effective means of
qualitatively monitoring toughness.
More accurate methods of monitoring toughness, e.g. CTOD testing, have
developed from the understanding of fracture mechanics.
The optimal balance of strength and toughness can be achieved by a combination
of chemical and physical metallurgical treatments.
Structures under repeated loading may fail by fatigue.
Resistance to fatigue is influenced by stress range, number cycles, mean stress,
geometry, residual stresses and defects, especially those associated in welding.

5. ADDITIONAL READING
1. Griffith, A.A., Phil. Trans. Royal Society A221 (1921).
2. Wells, A.A., Unstable Crack Propagation in Metals: Cleavage and Fast Fracture,
Proc. Symp. Crack Propagation, Cranfield 1961, Vol. 1.
3. E 813-81 Standard Test Method for JIC, A Measure of Fracture Toughness, ASTM
1981.
4. Method for crack opening displacement testing, BS5762, British Standard
Institution, London 1979.
5. Methods of tests for plain strain fracture toughness (KIc) of metallic materials,
BS5447, British Standard Institution, London 1977.

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6. Milne, I. et al, Assessment of the integrity of structures containing defects, CEGBR/H/R6-Rev. 3, Central Electricity Generating Board, London, 1986.
7. Guidance on Methods for assessing the acceptability of flaws in fusion welded
structures, PD 6493: British Standards Institution, London 1991.
8. Kumar, V. et al, An Engineering Approach for Elastic-Plastic Fracture Analysis,
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), NP 1931, Project 1237-1, Final Report,
General Electric Company, New York.
9. Dahl, W. et al, Application of Fracture Mechanics Concepts to the Failure of Wide
Plates, Nuclear Engineering Design 1985.

APPENDIX 1
Fracture toughness values of different materials
Material

Kc (MNm-3/2)

Material

Kc (MNm-3/2)

Ductile metals, e.g. Cu

200

cast iron

15

Grade Fe430B structural

steel (room temperature)

140

glass
reinforced

40

plastic
Grade Fe 430B structural
steel (-100 C)

40

Pressure vessel steels

170

12