TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 639/1998
N Cardinal*, M R Goldthorpe, C S Wiesner and A L Bannister*
* British Steel plc, Swinden Technology Centre, Moorgate, Rotherham, UK
Background
The 'local approach' was introduced in 1983 by the French Beremin research group. It is a micromechanical model of cleavage fracture which is based on a two-parameter Weibull distribution describing the mean and scatter of toughness properties. The 'local approach' can be used to predict the failure of ferritic steel structures on the lower shelf and in the lower transition region. The method is able to quantify the effects of component sizes and crack tip constraint on subsequent failure.
Objective
The overall aim of the present project was to investigate the applicability of the 'local approach' to welded joints and wide plate fracture behaviour.