New equation for the plastic correction factor η for J-integral determination from test results of three-point-bend specimens

When material yielding occurs, the stress intensity factor, K, no longer correctly characterizes the magnitude of the stress field around the crack tip. For significant amounts of yielding, the J-integral approach is applied as an advanced tool. In practice, for many engineering applications, the non-linear plasticity effects are of importance and therefore material behavior beyond yield needs an accurate description for input to tools for assessment. This work presents J-integral values of two different steel grades (1006 and 4340) using a newly developed analytical approach for the correction factors ηpl, which takes into account the elastic–plastic properties of the material. The evaluation approach is based on absorbed energies in a Charpy-sized specimen during the elastic and plastic deformation phases. Values of these energy terms were obtained via numerical simulation of 1006 and 4340 steel Charpy-sized specimens loaded in three-point-bending. This work highlights the effect of materials plastic properties on the J-integral. Different steel grades show different amounts of plasticity defined by the strain-hardening exponent and the strain-hardening constant and these influence the fracture parameters. Application of the plastic correction factor ηpl to Charpy-sized specimens, considering the respective plastic properties of the materials, leads to values of ηpl equal to 2.286 for 1006 steel and 2.621 for 4340 steel.