TEMPERATURE DEPENDENT FRACTURE MODEL AND ITS APPLICATION TO ULTRA HEAVY THICK STEEL PLATE USED FOR SHIPBUILDING

In this study, experimental and numerical studies were performed to examine the effects of thickness of steel plate on the arrest fracture toughness. The ESSO tests were performed with the steel plates having temperature gradient along the crack propagation direction. A temperature dependent crack initiation criterion was proposed as well. A series of three-dimensional FEA was then carried out to simulate the ESSO test while the thickness of the steel plate varies. Results reveal that a temperature dependent brittle criterion proposed in this study can describe the fracture behavior properly.