Fracture toughness associated with natural weld defects - solidification cracks

TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 421/1990

By T Jutla and J Haugh

Background

Some concern has been expressed that the fracture toughness of natural weld defects may be lower than that measured using standard test specimens containing fatigue sharpened notches. This report describes an experimental study which was conducted to compare the fracture toughness of weld solidification cracks with standard fatigue cracked specimens. Tests were carried out on 50mm thick submerged-arc welds in BS 4360 grade steel. The results of these tests are presented and discussed.