Numerical investigation on the fracture driving force of laser welds and arc welds

The brittle fracture driving forces of laser beam welds (LBWs) and arc welds (AWs) are investigated and compared numerically with a center through-thickness cracked panel (CTCP) and a standard fracture toughness specimen (3-point bending specimen, 3PB). The effects of hard zone width (H) and strength mismatch ratio (Sr) were systematically studied at global strain (e∞) of 0.1% and 0.2%. It was found that the peak opening stress near the crack...