EVOLUTION OF ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES FOR FRACTURE-SAFE DESIGN OF STEEL STRUCTURES

Abstract : An interpretive review is presented of the development of scientific knowledge of fracture processes and of the technological application of this information to the evolution of engineering principles for fracture-safe design. The review is in the format of a chronological exposition of the successive advancements in the state of knowledge relating to both the mechanical and metallurgical aspects of the subject. The consolidation of these aspects emphasizes that fracture-safe design practices are not separable into metallurgical and mechanical aspects, but rather involve detailed engineering consideration of both factors. The evolution of modern fracture-safe design technology has its origins in the broad-scope research activity period of the 1940's. The results of the early research provided an enduring base on which more selective studies were evolved in the ensuing decades. The evolution of significant fracture toughness characterization test methods and of procedures for their analytical interpretation, with respect to both metallurgical quality and mechanical aspects, paced the rate of progress during this time period. In this report a detailed description is provided of these various tests, with separation as to types which were primarily of research interest and those which emerged as suitable for general engineering usage.