The effect of a residual stress field on fracture initiation in RPV steel

Whether flaws in structures containing residual (secondary) stresses will extend under particular operational (primary) loads depends on the extent to which the residual stress field affects: (a) the nature and distribution of initiators; (b) the combined (primary + secondary) stresses and strains experienced by potential initiators. This paper compares fractographic data from specimens loaded by only a primary stress with data from specimens also containing a tensile residual stress field. Three-dimensional elastic-plastic finite element calculations are used to characterize the stress-strain conditions at the initiation sites at the onset of brittle fracture. The introduction of a residual stress changes the dominant stage in fracture nucleation from microcrack extension to particle cracking. This offsets some of the decrease in fracture toughness expected when the residual stress field increases specimen constraint. © 2011 Crown.