Estimation of Cumulative Plastic Deformation Capacity at Brittle Fracture of Notched Steel Members Using Charpy Absorbed Energy

This study investigates the cumulative plastic deformation capacity of notched steel members subject to brittle fracture. Fracture toughness and cyclic loading tests were performed on three steels across temperatures from the lower shelf to the ductile-to-brittle transition region. A practical method is proposed to estimate cumulative plastic deformation capacity from Charpy absorbed energy through the critical Weibull stress. The estimated capacities agreed well with experimental results, matching the accuracy of analyses using experimentally calibrated Weibull parameters. Furthermore, the prediction accuracy remained satisfactory even when the Weibull shape parameter was simplified to m = 20.