Abstract
Material fracture toughness based on J-integral versus crack-extension relationship (J-R curve) is investigated with direct current potential drop (DCPD) technique and compared with results from elastic unloading compliance (EUC) or normalization technique. The test matrix covered four different materials, half inch thickness and one inch thickness compact tension (C(T))specimens, and temperatures ranging from 24 °C to 600 °C. The original J-R curves from DCPD yielded much smaller Jq value than EUC or normalization results due to the influence of plastic deformation on potential drop. To counter this effect, two new methods for adjusting DCPD data have been proposed. After adjustment, the average difference in Jq between DCPD and EUC or normalization results is only about 8% whereas the difference in tearing modulus is about 17%. The promising results prove the applicability of DCPD for J-R curve determination for C(T) specimens especially in extreme environments, such as elevated temperatures, where conventional EUC method faces considerable challenges.
