... for U-notched and V-notched specimens, with a reasonable significant amount of conservatism. The main source of the conservatism may be caused by the low level of constraint of the loaded plates, which are tested under tensile conditions, whereas fracture toughness is obtained from highly constrained...

... wall is very small. At the weld toe in the chamber, however, the prestrain can be accumulated with the stress concentration. This will lead to a larger reduction of the ductility. Nevertheless, the influence of prestrain on the fracture toughness of the chamber material is expected to be marginal...

... show that, according to the notch position, distinct fractions of weld metal columnar and reheated regions are present at the notch tip. Impact toughness of the weld metal with predominance of reheated regions is always superior to that with predominance of columnar region. Modification of some...