CTOD Testing

The concept of fracture toughness was introduced in an earlier Connect article, Job knowledge 71,
which discussed the Charpy-V test, a simple qualitative test that gives only an indication of the
toughness of a metal.
The next few articles will look at the tests that enable fracture toughness to be accurately measured
in a quantitative manner by using a full size specimen containing a crack with loading that is
representative of service conditions.
This allows a fitness-for-purpose analysis to be carried out which enables a critical defect size to be
calculated. Thus, prior to fabrication, realistic acceptance standards can be set and decisions on
appropriate NDE techniques and detection sensitivities can be made.
For equipment already in service, it is possible to justify the continued use of cracked or otherwise
flawed components until such time as repair or replacement can be effected. Such engineering
critical assessments can save an operator large amounts of time and money, running into perhaps
hundreds of millions of pounds in the case of an oil rig for example. Whilst the Crack Tip Opening
Displacement (CTOD) test was developed for the characterisation of metals it has also been used to
determine the toughness of non-metallics such as weldable plastics.
The CTOD test is one such fracture toughness test that is used when some plastic deformation can
occur prior to failure - this allows the tip of a crack to stretch and open, hence 'tip opening
displacement'.
Unlike the inexpensive 10mm by 10mm square Charpy-V test piece with a blunt machined notch,
the CTOD specimen may be the full thickness of the material, will contain a genuine crack and will
be loaded at a rate more representative of service conditions. Conventionally three tests are carried
out at the relevant temperature to ensure consistency of results.
The test piece itself is 'proportional' - the length, depth and thickness of each specimen are interrelated so that, irrespective of material thickness, each specimen has the same proportions.
There are two basic forms - a square or a rectangular cross section specimen. If the specimen
thickness is defined as 'B', the depth (W) will be either B or 2B with a standard length of 4.6W. A
notch is machined at the centre and then extended by generating a fatigue crack so that the total
'defect' length is half the depth of the test piece- see Fig.1. A test on a 100mm thick weld will
therefore require a specimen measuring 100mm thick, 200mm wide and 920mm long - an expensive
operation, the validity of which can only be determined once the test has been completed.

Fig.1. Proportional rectangular cross section CTOD specimen

The test is performed by placing the specimen into three point bending and measuring the amount
of crack opening. This is done by means of a strain gauge attached to a clip placed between two
accurately positioned knife edges at the mouth of the machined notch (Fig.2)

Fig.2. Typical test arrangement. The specimen can be easily immersed in a cooling bath

As bending proceeds, the crack tip plastically deforms until a critical point is reached when the crack
has opened sufficiently to initiate a cleavage crack. This may lead to either partial or complete failure
of the specimen. The test may be performed at some minimum temperature eg the minimum design
temperature or, more rarely, at a range of temperatures.
The values that are required for the calculation of toughness are firstly the load at which fracture
occurs and secondly the amount by which the crack has opened at the point of crack propagation
(Fig.3).

Fig.3. Position of CTOD specimen immediately prior to crack propagation

Since the length of the crack and the opening at the mouth of the notch are known it is a simple
matter to calculate the crack tip opening by simple geometry. Whilst the test is in progress the
results are recorded automatically on a load/displacement chart (Fig. 4). This illustrates the various
shapes of curve that may be produced - (a) is a test where the test piece has fractured in a brittle
manner with little or no plastic deformation. (b) exhibits a 'pop-in' where the brittle crack initiates
but only propagates a short distance before it is arrested in tougher material - this may occur several
times giving the curve a saw tooth appearance or after this one pop-in deformation may continue in
a ductile manner as in (c) which shows completely plastic behaviour.

Fig.4. Load vs crack opening displacement curves showing three types of fracture behaviour

The location of the notch in the weld HAZ or parent metal is important as an incorrectly positioned
fatigue crack will not sample the required area, making the test invalid. To be certain that the crack
tip is in the correct region, polishing and etching followed by a metallurgical examination are often
carried out prior to machining the notch and fatigue cracking. This enables the notch to be positioned
very accurately. Examination may also be carried out after testing as further confirmation of the
validity of the test results.
Once the sample is broken open the crack surface is examined to ensure that the fatigue crack has
a reasonably straight front. The residual stresses present in a welded joint may cause the fatigue
crack front to be irregular - if this is excessive the test may be invalid. To overcome this problem
the test piece may be locally compressed at the machined notch tip to redistribute the residual
stress.
Two depressions each side of the sample can often be seen where this compression has been carried
out. The fatigue cracking itself should be carried out using a low stress range. The use of high
stresses to speed up the fatigue cracking process can result in a large plastically deformed area
ahead of the fatigue crack and this will invalidate the results of the test.

Other causes of test failure can unfortunately only be determined once the test has been completed
and the crack surface examined. The precise length of the fatigue crack is measured - this is required
for the analysis - but if the length of the crack is not within the limits required by the specification
the test is invalid. If the fatigue crack is not in a single plane, if the crack is at an angle to the
machined notch or if the crack is not in the correct region the test may need to be repeated.

Related specifications
BS 7448
BS 7910

Parts 1- 4 Fracture Mechanics Toughness Tests

Guide on Methods for Assessing the Acceptability of Flaws in
Metallic Structures.

ASTM
E1820

Standard Test Method for Measurement of Fracture Toughness.

BS EN ISO

15653 Metallic Materials - Method of test for the determination

of quasistatic fracture toughness of welds