Monte Carlo Simulation to Predict Fracture Initiation in Mild Steel

AbstractThe brittle fracture occurs suddenly and can cause the fatal accident, so it needs to be prevented. The brittle fracture has been studied by a lot of researchers, but the quantitative relationship between fracture toughness and microstructure has not become clear. In this study, we developed the numerical model to predict cleavage fracture toughness of mild steel by integrating the formulation in previous studies. Besides, the proposed model was validated by comparing the predicted results with the experimental results. The three-point bending tests with notched specimen were conducted and the fracture initiation sites were observed by SEM in order to validate the proposed model. The predicted fracture toughness values showed good agreement with those of the experiments. The fracture initiation sites which the model predicted also show good agreement with them. It is found that the proposed model represents the quantitative relationship between fracture toughness and microstructure of mild steel and predicts fracture toughness with high accuracy