ASTM E08.07.09 Analytical Round-Robin on the Use of DC Electrical Potential Difference for the Measurement of Crack Size in Ductile Fracture Testing

Abstract The Direct Current Electrical Potential Difference (DCEPD) technique has been used for many years in fatigue and fracture testing for monitoring crack propagation in metallic materials. The principle of DCEPD methods is that when a constant current flows through a cracked specimen, the voltage change measured across the crack plane can be analytically related, empirically related, or both, to the change in crack size. In fatigue testing, performed within the limits of Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics, crack propagation is the sole source of potential change. In ductile fracture testing, additional contributions from specimen dimension changes and crack-tip plastic deformation (blunting) have to be accounted for and distinguished from the DCEPD increase caused by crack growth. The ASTM E08.07.09 Task Group, formed in 2013 and chaired by the author, has been developing an annex for ASTM E1820, Standard Test Method for Measurement of Fracture Toughness, which focuses on the use of DCEPD measurements for the prediction of crack size and crack extension in ductile fracture toughness tests. This article presents the analysis of an analytical round-robin, in which 8 participants analyzed 24 existing fracture toughness data sets using two different approaches, based on the analysis of the displacement versus DCEPD and force versus DCEPD, respectively. The comparison between these two approaches and the implications for the ASTM E1820 annex being developed are the focus of this article.