Abstract
Establishing the fracture toughness of real HAZ can be challenging due
to the small extension of the potentially brittle zones. Application of
testing of weld thermal simulated HAZ microstructures can provide an
alternative approach to establish fracture properties of the more brittle
microstructures. In this paper CTOD values measured in real and
simulated CGHAZ of a 420 MPa steel are compared at -60 and -30ºC.
It is shown that for the lower temperature, where the fracture toughness
is very low, similar CTOD values are obtained in both the real and
simulated HAZ. At the higher temperature the fracture toughness
increases more in the real HAZ compared to the simulated one. FE
analyses are used to propose an explanation for this behaviour. The
results present an interesting first step in the direction of use of weld
thermal simulated samples for obtaining relevant CTOD values for
used in assessment of real HAZ.
to the small extension of the potentially brittle zones. Application of
testing of weld thermal simulated HAZ microstructures can provide an
alternative approach to establish fracture properties of the more brittle
microstructures. In this paper CTOD values measured in real and
simulated CGHAZ of a 420 MPa steel are compared at -60 and -30ºC.
It is shown that for the lower temperature, where the fracture toughness
is very low, similar CTOD values are obtained in both the real and
simulated HAZ. At the higher temperature the fracture toughness
increases more in the real HAZ compared to the simulated one. FE
analyses are used to propose an explanation for this behaviour. The
results present an interesting first step in the direction of use of weld
thermal simulated samples for obtaining relevant CTOD values for
used in assessment of real HAZ.