An engineering assessment methodology for non-sharp defects in steel structures - Part II: Procedure validation and constraint analysis

This Part II paper validates a new engineering methodology for assessing non-sharp defects in ferritic steel structures. The new approach, presented in the companion Part I paper, is based on a modification of the Failure Assessment Diagram for notches. A series of worked examples is presented based on a large dataset of U-notched SE(B) specimens machined from a heat-treated structural steel grade S690. Failure predictions of notched specimens using the modified approach result in significantly reduced conservatism compared to the standard Failure Assessment Diagram assessment method. The new methodology is also combined with the existing constraint-modified approach in the R6 defect assessment method to predict cleavage fracture in shallow, blunt-notched SE(B) specimens with a small degree of conservatism. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.