The resistance to fracture of a material is known as its fracture toughness. Fracture toughness generally depends on temperature, environment, loading rate, the composition of the material and its microstructure, together with geometric effects (constraint). These factors are of particular importance for welded joints, where the metallurgical and geometric effects are complex.  Fracture toughness is a critical input parameter for fracture-mechanics based fitness-for-service assessments. Although fracture toughness can sometimes be obtained from the literature or materials properties databases, it is preferable to determine this by experiment for the particular material and joint being assessed.  ASTM E1820 outlines these measurement parameters.  Based on the fracture test, the width of the transition layers dictate ‘health’ of the process. Currently, this is manually done off-line using third-party software.  However, to improve efficiently and accuracy, an on-line solution is more practical.

The NEW software product allows the user of an ASPEX to measure 9 equidistance lines on an active as well as save image and the widths of a fracture surface.  In addition, the tool allows for a single output report which calculates the pertinent values for the customer’s measurements.

Contact ASPEX to learn more.