Determination of the tensile and fracture properties of ductile materials by small punch testing

The uniaxial tensile and fracture properties are the basic data for the structural integrity assessment of ductile material. In this study, the stress-strain relations of ductile materials are predicted by the SPT-related stress-strain relation (SPT-SR) model directly through SPT experiment, which agree with the relations determined by the finite-element-analysis aided testing (FAT) method. Further, the experimental procedures of SPT are simulated by combining the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman (GTN) model and the predicted stress-strain relations. The parameters of GTN model can be determined when the simulated load-displacement curves of SPT specimens coincide with the experimental results. Finally, the ductile crack propagation behaviors of the single edge-notched bending (SEB) specimens are simulated utilizing the calibrated GTN model, and the corresponding J resistance curves are successfully predicted via the normalization method.