One of the decisive factors influencing the safety of components is the capacity for plastic deformation of the material employed. This depends not only on the actual material properties, such as reduction of area or notch impact energy, but also on the stress conditions prevailing in the component. With sufficiently sharp transitions of geometrical form, or at cracks, such high multiaxial stress states can arise in components, that in spite of excellent plastic deformation capability of the malterial, practically deformationless fractures are inevitable. If one generates from the principal normal stresses (σ1, σ2, σ3) the multiaxiality quotient q, which represents a characteristic quantity for the degree of multiaxiality of the stress state, the effect of the stress states on the strength and deformation behavior of a component can be estimated. With the aid of the Sandel fracture theory, which includes the von Mises yield theory as a special case, the critical q value qc, which characterises the stress conditions leading to cleavage fracture if q < qc, can be calculated. The fracture mechanics evaluation of the sharply notched specimens of dimensions similar to components shows no dependence of the effective crack initiation value on the specimen size or stress state, since at the load free crack tip, plane stress conditions generally prevail. The further failure process after crack initiation in the form of stable crack extension is very strongly controlled by the stress state. This phase could also be estimated from consideration of the pattern of the q value in the remaining cross section. The investigations have shown that the multiaxiality quotient q, which characterizes the degree of multiaxiality of the stress state, represents a characteristic quantity with which, in combination with fracture mechanics methods, the failure behavior of components may be estimated, even with respect to stable crack extension.

Dissimilar welds impose a challenge to the engineers concerned with the structural integrity assessment of these joints. This is because of the highly inhomogeneous nature of these joints in terms of their microstructure, mechanical, thermal, and fracture properties. Fracture mechanics-based concepts cannot be directly used because of the problems associated with the definition of a suitable crack-tip loading parameter such as J -integral crack tip opening displacement (CTOD), etc. Again, depending upon the location of initial crack (i.e. base, weld, buttering, different interfaces, etc.), further crack propagation can occur in any material. The objective of the current work is to use micro-mechanical models of ductile fracture for initiation and propagation of cracks in the bimetallic welds. The authors have developed a finite element formulation that incorporates the porous plasticity yield function due to GursonTvergaard-Needleman and utilized it here for the analysis. Experiments have been conducted at MPA Stuttgart using single edge-notched bend (SEB) specimens with cracks at different locations of the joint. The micro-mechanical (Gurson) parameters of four different materials (i.e. ferrite, austenite, buttering, and weld) have been determined individually by simulation of fracture resistance behaviour of SEB specimens and comparing the simulated results with those of the experiment. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the damage model in predicting the crack growth in the actual bimetallic-welded specimen, simulation of two SEB specimens (with initial crack at ferrite-buttering and buttering-weld interface) has been carried out. The simulated fracture resistance behaviour compares well with those of the experiment.

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