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. (orig.)