Local Approach of the Charpy Test at Low Temperature

Charpy V-notch impact testing is widely used in the toughness assessment of large forged components, e.g. the pressure vessel for pressurised water reactors (PWR). At low temperature, A508 Cl.3 nuclear pressure vessel steel fails by cleavage fracture. The results reported here are part of both an experimental program and numerical investigations which aim at the establishment of a non-empirical relationship between the lower shelf Charpy V-notch energy, CVN, and the fracture toughness, KIc, of this material. Here, the applicability of the Beremin cleavage fracture model to the Charpy specimen is demonstrated

Crack path in liquid metal embrittlement: experiments with steels and modeling

We review the recent experimental clarification of the fracture path in Liquid Metal Embrittlement with austenitic and martensitic steels. Using state of the art characterization tools (Focused Ion Beam and Transmission Electron Microscopy) a clear understanding of crack path is emerging for these systems where a classical fractographic analysis fails to provide useful information. The main finding is that most of the cracking process takes place at grain boundaries, lath or mechanical twin boundaries while cleavage or plastic flow localization is rarely the observed fracture mode. Based on these experimental insights, we sketch an on-going modeling strategy for LME crack initiation and propagation at mesoscopic scale

Computational Homogenization of Architectured Materials

Architectured materials involve geometrically engineered distributions of microstructural phases at a scale comparable to the scale of the component, thus calling for new models in order to determine the effective properties of materials. The present chapter aims at providing such models, in the case of mechanical properties. As a matter of fact, one engineering challenge is to predict the effective properties of such materials; computational homogenization using finite element analysis is a powerful tool to do so. Homogenized behavior of architectured materials can thus be used in large structural computations, hence enabling the dissemination of architectured materials in the industry. Furthermore, computational homogenization is the basis for computational topology optimization which will give rise to the next generation of architectured materials. This chapter covers the computational homogenization of periodic architectured materials in elasticity and plasticity, as well as the homogenization and representativity of random architectured materials

From Architectured Materials to Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing

The classical material-by-design approach has been extensively perfected by materials scientists, while engineers have been optimising structures geometrically for centuries. The purpose of architectured materials is to build bridges across themicroscale ofmaterials and themacroscale of engineering structures, to put some geometry in the microstructure. This is a paradigm shift. Materials cannot be considered monolithic anymore. Any set of materials functions, even antagonistic ones, can be envisaged in the future. In this paper, we intend to demonstrate the pertinence of computation for developing architectured materials, and the not-so-incidental outcome which led us to developing large-scale additive manufacturing for architectural applications

Damage Effect in the Fracture Toughness of Nodular Cast Iron

In order to understand the toughness of nodular cast iron, the flow stress have been studied numerically by using Gurson's model considering that nodular cast iron can be regarded as a porous material. The damaged zone ahead of the crack tip is studied by SEM observations on the pre-polished surface of a CT 25 specimen, before and after ductile tearing. It is shown that the damaged zone is very large in the GGG 40 nodular cast iron (through almost the whole ligament ahead of the crack), so the Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics is not valid in nodular cast iron for small specimens. The force versus crack opening displacement curves calculated in 2D for plane strain and plane stress conditions give respectively an upper and a lower limit as compared with the experimental curve. Only 3D calculations lead to a good fît with the experimental curve. This result shows that the stress state ahead of the crack tip of a nodular cast iron is intermediate between plane stress and plane strain conditions, due to the high density of voids inside the damaged material

Influence des inclusions sur la rupture d'un acier faiblement allié

L'étude de la rupture d'un acier faiblement allié dans le domaine de la transition ductile fragile a permis de mettre en évidence la présence croissante, avec la température de sollicitation, d'amas d'inclusions de seconde phase sur les surfaces de rupture. On montre, à l'aide de modélisations par éléments finis, que ces amas jouent néanmoins un rôle mineur dans le déclenchement du clivage. En revanche, leur influence sur la propagation de la rupture ductile est importante. On peut alors expliquer l'anisotropie de la résilience en prenant en compte la géométrie des inclusions et leur répartition spatiale