The evaluation of toughness of line-pipe steels to avoid ductile fracture initiation and unstable ductile fracture propagation is presently being evaluated empirically by using impact toughness data. Empirical correlations from full-scale testing have been developed between fracture initiation and propagation behavior of axial flaws in pipes and Charpy data. As with any empirical relationship, there is concern about whether the relationship can be extrapolated to new materials. The objective of this study is to assess the relationship between impact toughness data and full-scale toughness for ...
The evaluation of toughness of line-pipe steels to avoid ductile fracture initiation and unstable ductile fracture propagation is presently being evaluated empirically by using impact toughness data. Empirical correlations from full-scale testing have been developed between fracture initiation and propagation behavior of axial flaws in pipes and Charpy data. As with any empirical relationship, there is concern about whether the relationship can be extrapolated to new materials. The objective of this study is to assess the relationship between impact toughness data and full-scale toughness for a wide range of materials in the ductile fracture mode. To make this assessment, a theoretically sound evaluation of plane stress ductile fracture toughness is needed for fracture initiation and propagation behavior.