This article aims to survey the factors controlling the weldability of carbon and low-alloy steels in arc welding. It discusses the influence of operational parameters, thermal cycles, and metallurgical factors on weld metal transformations and the susceptibility to hot and cold cracking. The article addresses the basic principles that affect the weldability of carbon and low-alloy steels. It outlines the characteristic features of welds and the metallurgical factors that affect weldability. It describes the common tests to determine steel weldability. There are various types of tests for determining the susceptibility of the weld joint to different types of cracking during fabrication, including restraint tests, externally loaded tests, underbead cracking tests, and lamellar tearing tests. Weldability tests are conducted to provide information on the service and performance of welds. The major tests that are discussed in this article are weld tension test, bend test, the drop-weight test, the Charpy V-notch test, the crack tip opening displacement test, and stress-corrosion cracking test.

This article describes the test methods of fracture toughness, namely, linear-elastic and nonlinear fracture toughness testing methods. Linear-elastic fracture toughness testing includes slow and rapid loading, crack initiation, and crack arrest method. Nonlinear testing comprises J IC testing, J-R curve evaluation, and crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) method. Other methods used include the combined J standard method, the common fracture toughness test, transition fracture toughness testing, and the weldment fracture testing method.

Fracture toughness is the ability of a material to withstand fracture in the presence of cracks. This article focuses on the use of fracture toughness as a parameter for engineering and design purposes. Both linear elastic and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics concepts are reviewed as they relate to fracture toughness and design process. The article explores the use of plane strain fracture toughness, crack-tip opening displacement, and the J-integral as the criteria for the design and safe operation of structures and mechanical components. It discusses the variables affecting fracture toughness, including yield strength, loading rate, temperature, and material thickness. A summary of different fatigue and fracture mechanics design philosophies and their relationship with fracture toughness is provided. The article concludes with information on the examples of fracture toughness in design.

This article discusses the concepts underlying linear elastic fracture mechanics and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics as well as their importance in characterizing the fracture behavior of the high-strength aluminum alloys. It describes the three methods used for analyzing elastic-plastic fracture, namely R-curve concept, J-integral concept, and crack tip opening displacement method. The article considers the primary measures used to assess the toughness of aluminum alloy castings and wrought alloys: notch toughness, tear resistance, and plane-strain fracture toughness.

Optimized modeling of fracture-critical structural components and connections requires the application of elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. Such applications, however, can require sophisticated analytical techniques such as crack tip opening displacement (CTOD), failure assessment diagram (FAD), and deformation plasticity failure assessment diagram (DPFAD). This article presents the origin and description of FAD and addresses R6 FAD using J-integral. It details the fracture criteria of BS 7910. The factors to be considered during the use of FAD and the applications of FAD are also reviewed.