DYNAMIC MATERIAL PROPERTIES AND THEIR APPLICATION TO COMPONENTS

A methodology was developed for safety analyses of dynamically loaded cracked power plant components. For that purpose fracture tests were p erformed by means of compact tension specimens made from different fer ritic fine grained structural steels and an austenitic steel at differ ent loading rates. Experimental and numerical analyses of the influenc e of increasing loading rate on the near tip displacement field are de scribed. Thereby, strain rate in the process zone of a crack can be es timated. It was possible to determine the state of stress and local di splacement and strain rates from numerical analyses of experiments wit h components and large scale specimens. Time derivatives of stress int ensity factor K resp. J-integral can be used as sufficient parameters for characterizing the loading rate of specimens and components. (C) 1 997 Elsevier Science S.A.