Fracture Toughness, K_Ic and CTOD

The program provides data acquisition and results analysis for fracture toughness testing of compact tension or three-point bend specimens to meet ASTM E 1820,E1290, or E399 or BS 7448 : Part 1. If the test machine is manually operated, both the crosshead and stress rates are displayed on the screen providing visual aid to comply with the standards. If the test machine has an external input, then the program controls the crosshead rate in order to achieve loading rates stated in the standards.

After the test is finished, the modulus of elasticity is drawn. Depending on the test requirements, either the 5% secant line is drawn to calculate the fracture toughness (K_Ic), or the parallel offset at P_max is drawn to give the critical crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) or the area under the curve is calculated to yield the critical J fracture toughness, or any combination.

The results can be printed either in graphical form or text form, either on an inkjet or laser printer. Test data is stored for future analysis, enabling to re-calculate the results at a later date. Test data can also be stored as a text file in order to use spreadsheet program facilities.