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This paper applies and validates the Notch Master Curve in two ferritic steels with medium (steel S460M) and high (steel S690Q) strength. The Notch Master Curve is an engineering tool that allows the fracture resistance of notched ferritic steels operating within their corresponding ductile-to-brittle transition zone to be estimated. It combines the Master Curve and the Theory of Critical Distances in order to take into account the temperature and the notch effect respectively, assuming that both effects are independent. The results, derived from 168 fracture tests on notched specimens, demonstrate the capability of the Notch Master Curve for the prediction of the fracture resistance of medium and high strength ferritic steels operating within their ductile-to-brittle transition zone and containing notches.

This paper presents a model for the prediction of the apparent fracture toughness of ferriticpearlitic steels in notched conditions and operating at temperatures corresponding to their ductile-to-brittle transition zone. The model, here named the Notch-Master Curve, is based on the combination of the Master Curve of the material in cracked conditions and the notch corrections provided by the Theory of Critical Distances. In order to validate the model, the fracture resistance results obtained in 168 tests performed on CT specimens (84 for each material) are presented. These tests were carried out, for each material, in specimens with six different notch radii, from 0 mm up to 2.0 mm, and at three different temperatures within their corresponding ductile-to-brittle transition zone. It has been observed that the model provides good predictions of the fracture resistance in notched conditions for the two materials analysed.