THE ETM METHOD FOR ASSESSING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CRACK-LIKE DEFECTS IN ENGINEERING STRUCTURES

The Engineering Flaw Assessment Method, EFAM, is presently being developed at GKSS. It consists of several individual documents for determining material properties and the crack driving force. The present paper briefly describes the document EFAM ETM 97 which provides guidance for estimating the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) and the J-integral as driving force parameters for homogeneous structures. The CTOD and J can be expressed as functions of applied force or applied strain.