What is fracture toughness?
A fracture toughness test characterizes the resistance of a material to fracture in a neutral environment and in the presence of a sharp crack. In contrast with Charpy Impact Toughness, which can only be used to compare the notch toughness of materials or to determine a metal’s compliance with a specification, the Plane Strain Fracture Toughness (KIc) value can be used directly in design, life calculations and crack growth or remaining life calculations. What can be tested for fracture toughness? Stork is fully qualified to conduct machining, fatigue pre-cracking, and fracture toughness testing of bend or compact-tension samples from every type of product, including large and complex structures—such as buildings, bridges, ships, aircraft, windmill towers, nuclear reactors, pressure vessels, and press bodies. Stork’s Engineered Mechanics and Metallurgical Engineering experts can help solve fracture toughness problems specific to many industries—from ground vehicle, aerospace, and defens
