An innovative technique for evaluating fracture toughness of graphite materials

Spiral notch torsion fracture toughness test (SNTT) was developed recently to measure the intrinsic fracture toughness (KIC) of structural materials. The SNTT system operates by applying pure torsion to uniform cylindrical specimens with a notch line that spirals around the specimen at a 45° pitch. The KIC values are obtained with the aid of a three-dimensional finite-element computer code, TOR3D-KIC. The SNTT method is uniquely suitable for testing a wide variety of materials used extensively in pressure vessel and piping structural components and weldments, including others such as ceramics, their composites, and concrete.