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No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The analysis of fracture toughness test data from standard specimens is often based upon the assumptions of planar crack fronts and homogenous material properties. However, these assumptions do not hold true for all test geometries or real components. The overall objective of this EngD was therefore to develop the methodologies used in fracture assessment of steel components, by incorporating a reduction in the conservatisms inherent in the assessment procedures. These conservatisms are associated with applying a ‘lower bound’ treatment to steel components, which in reality contain significant variability in effective fracture toughness, due to either material considerations (macroscopic or microstructural), or geometrical considerations including the effect of crack tip constraint.The first method developed allows a comparison of a variation of fracture toughness values throughout a component, to a variation of the localised effective crack driving force. The main feature of this method takes advantage of the nature of the ductile-to-brittle transition regime of fracture toughness, where there is significant scatter. This leads to a probabilistic prediction of the location of fracture initiation, and a less conservative estimate of failure load, used to derive enhanced fracture toughness for the component. The second method calculates less conservative fracture toughness values for steels where there is significant heterogeneity in the dataset. The effects of measurement uncertainty on derived fracture toughness values can be monitored to improve probabilistic estimates of the heterogeneous fracture toughness values. These methods have been developed into predictive software tools, validated against data from the literature.Finite element analysis of various configurations of compact tension and bend specimen, under different constraint conditions, was used to identify fracture mechanics parameters and constraint factors that will be of use in deriving accurate fracture toughness relationships from future testing programmes. The viability of low constraint specimens for accurately characterising increases in fracture toughness has been assessed. These recommendations enhance the relationships and advice suggested in the testing standards and literature. Loss of constraint in thin components can be quantified by a triaxiality parameter, which can be used to predict an increase in fracture toughness through use of a damage model, in this case developed based on a ductility exhaustion approach. This model can be used to predict initiation of ductile fracture in configurations with low constraint, leading to less conservative fracture toughness values, enhancing the guidance in the various defect tolerance assessment procedures.

In nuclear environments, irradiation hardening and damage have a detrimental effect on materials performance. Among others, fracture toughness of austenitic stainless steels decreases under neutron irradiation. Helium arising from transmutation reactions is one source of embrittlement leading to that decrement and it is here assumed as a case study, austenitic steel 316L being the material under investigation. The experimental reproduction of irradiation hardening effect on yield stress is attempted here by pre-strain under tensile loading at room temperature. The experimental production of porosity is attempted by inducing ductile damage, creep damage or a combination of them. Damage at the microstructural level is analyzed by metallography, fractography, X-ray tomography and quantified by image processing.After calibrating the elastic, the plastic and the porous plastic constitutive equations by the means of tensile tests on smooth and notched specimens, results from damaging experiments are validated by finite element analysis using the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman model. The numerical models obtained represent different levels of damage into the material, as induced by the experiments.Material presenting different levels of damage is then machined for fracture toughness evaluation in the shape of sharp-notched round bars. Fracture toughness initiation is inferred from the load vs. displacement plots applying an opportune fracture criterion. In order to test the suitability of the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman model, the load vs. displacement results are validated by retrofitting opportune constitutive laws for each “damaged” state. Retrofitting is discussed in relation to the type of damage produced.Results show that the reproduction of the macroscopic effect of irradiation hardening on yield stress may be attempted for 316L by a pre-strain tensile loading at room temperature for levels up to 1.5 dpa or slightly more. These interrupted tensile tests did not give evidence of void volume fraction production. Creep tests at 650 °C showed sensitization at the grain boundaries but not porosity into the matrix. Creep tests at 1000 °C created 1.2% to 1.8% void volume fraction from grain boundary sliding. Finally, one 7% pre-strained specimen was subjected to creep test at 900 °C and stopped at 5% creep strain, without evidence of porosity into the matrix.Fracture toughness tests on the “damaged” states obtained before showed a decrement of fracture toughness initiation when compared with “undamaged” 316L. Specimens with 30% and 40% eng. strain presented a sensible decrement and exhibited a brittle-like behaviour. The differences in porosity size and physical processes involved suggest not stating that a correlation exists with the helium embrittlement effect on the same property. The Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman model worked for the “undamaged” material. It proved to be not suited for the brittle-like 30% and 40% eng. strain “damaged” materials because it did not capture the experimental progression of damage.In the end, fracture toughness numerical predictions were made using different values of initial void volume fraction. It was argued that, starting from a threshold value, the brittle-like 30% and 40% eng. strain “damaged” materials revert to a ductile behaviour.

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Few studies of blasting exist because of difficulties in obtaining reliable fragmentation data or even obtaining consistent blasting results. Many researchers have attempted to predict blast fragmentation using the Kuz-Ram model, an empirical fragmentation model suggested by Cunningham. The purpose of this study is to develop an empirical model to relate specific explosives energy (ESE) to blasting fragmentation reduction ratio (RR) and rock fracture toughness (KIC). The reduction ratio was obtained by analyzing the bench face block size distribution and the muck fragment size distribution using image analysis. The fracture toughness was determined using the Edge Notched Disk Wedge Splitting test. Blasting data from twelve (12) blasts at four (4) different quarries were analyzed. Based on this data set, an empirical relationship, ESE=11.7 RR801.202 KIC4.14 has been developed. Using this relationship, based on the predicted blasting energy input for a desired eighty-percent passing (P80) muckpile fragment size the burden and spacing may be determined. / Master of Science

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