J-integral evaluation of austenitic–martensitic functionally graded steel in plates weakened by U-notches

In this paper, a numerical method for J-integral evaluation of plates weakened by U-notches for brittle or quasi-brittle functionally graded steel (FGS) has been proposed. The material contains austenite phase in addition to martensite layer produced by electroslag remelting (ESR). The Young’s modulus and the Poisson’s ratio have been assumed to be constant, while other mechanical properties vary exponentially along the specimen width. The effect of notch depth on the J-integral and the critical fracture load has been studied. A comparison of the J-integral between functionally graded and homogeneous steels was made, where the notch tip in the functionally graded steel is situated in a layer with same mechanical properties as the homogeneous steel.