Charpy V-notch impact testing and brittle fracture in an A508 CL.3 bainitic steel

Charpy V-notch impact testing is widely used in the toughness diagnostic of large forged components, e.g. the vessel of pressurized water reactors (PWR). In an A508 Cl.3 bainitic steel tested at low temperature, cleavage occurs at the initiation of unstable failure. The results reported here are part of both an experimental program and numerical investigations in order to establish a non-empirical relationship between Charpy V-notch energy CVN and fracture toughness KIC. The Beremin model which is based on a critical fracture stress concept and Weibull statistics, is only applied on CVN tests. (orig.)