Simulations of Crack Extensions in Arc-Shaped Tension Specimens of Uncharged and Tritium-Charged-and-Decayed Austenitic Stainless Steels Using Cohesive Zone Modeling

Crack extensions in arc-shaped tension specimens of uncharged and tritium-charged-and-decayed conventionally forged (CF) 21-6-9 austenitic stainless steels are simulated by two-dimensional finite element analyses using the cohesive zone modeling (CZM) approach with the smooth trapezoidal traction-separation law. The J integrals at the deviation loads of the arc-shaped tension specimens are taken as the reference cohesive energies and the maximum...