CRITICAL STRAIN ENERGY DENSITY AS A FRACTURE MECHANICS CRITERION

SPARTA, INC. PROPOSES A PROGRAM TO EVALUATE THE CRITICAL STRAIN ENERGY DENSITY (CSED) AS A FRACTURE CRITERION. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM ARE TO PERFORM A PRELIMINARY TEST AND ANALYSIS PROGRAM TO DETERMINE IF A COMPREHENSIVE TEST PROGRAM TO INVESTIGATE CSED HAS MERIT AND THEN, ASSUMING CSED SHOWS PROMISE, DESIGN A COMPREHENSIVE PHASE II PROGRAM. THE PHASE I APPROACH WILL INCLUDE 1) PURCHASE AND UNIAXIAL TEST OF REPRESENTATIVE STEELS PLATES, 2) ANALYTICAL SIMULATIONS OF FRACTURE TESTS INCLUDIG THE EFFECTS OF LARGE STRAINS AND GROSS YIELDING, 3) CHARPY IMPACT AND J(IC) TESTING OF THE SELECTED STEELS, 4) CORRELATION OF THE UNIAXIAL TEST RESULTS WITH RESULTS FROM CHARPY IMPACT AND J(IC), AND 5) PLANNING OF PHASE II TEST PROGRAM.