Some Issues by Using the Master Curve Concept

The Master Curve concept allows to quantify the variation of fracture toughness with the temperature throughout the ductile-to-brittle transition region. Limit curves of fracture tough ness for defined failure probabilities and a reference temperatures can be determined using this method. Thus, fracture mechanical values can be supplied for an integrity assessment of structural components. This paper presents the application of the master curve concept to the reference temperature determination over the thickness of RPV steel plate. It was shown that the master curve concept is applicable for the fracture mechanical characterisation of material with different microstructures using small test specimens. The influence of the material homogeneity and the test temperature on the resulting reference temperature was investigated.