Analysis of impact properties of A533 steel for nuclear reactor pressure vessel by instrumented Charpy test

Instrumented Charpy impact test can become more useful by connecting the digital memory and microcomputer, where yield load (P_y), maximum load (P_m), premaximum load energy (E_i) and post-maximum load one (E_p) are automatically and rapidly analyzed. In such analysis, cyclic oscillations in a load signal are corrected and smoothened by using a method of moving averages (the nonrecursive low pass digital filter). Dynamic J_1c value (J_1d) of A533 steel can be measured in a fatigue precracked type Charpy specimen, provided that a true deflection of specimen and a true crack initiation point in the load-deflection curve are known. For this purpose, elastic compliance values of the testing machine and the specimen are measured dynamically by the elastic low blow test to correct the apparent deflection. Crack initiation point, on the other hand, is detected by the plastic low blow test. It is shown that the crack initiation in the fatigue pre-cracked specimen of this material occurs prior to the maximum load, and that the relation between crack initiation energy (E_Δα) and pre-maximum load energy (E_i) is $\text{E}{}_{\mathrm{\Delta \alpha }}\text{E}{}_{\mathrm{i}}\text{? 0.8}$.