Abstract
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the J-R curve characteristics for the 5083 aluminum alloy weldment by the load ratio analysis. The results of the load ratio analysis are compared with those of the J-R curve which are obtained by the ASTM unloading compliance method. The crack length calculated by the load ratio analysis is agrees well with the measured final crack length. The slope of the exponential J-R curve estimated by the load ratio analysis is slightly smaller than that by the ASTM unloading compliance method. The exponential correlation of the J-R curve for the 5083 aluminum alloy base metal by the load ratio analysis is J = 93.88 ${\Delta}{\alpha}^{0.375}$. That for the weld metal and HAZ is J = 69.87 ${\Delta}{\alpha}^{0.389}$ and J = 70.59 ${\Delta}{\alpha}^{0.359}$ respectively. The J-R curve obtained by the ASTM unloading compliance method is overpredicted and should be offsetted due to the initial negative crack. On the other hand, the load ratio analysis method can evaluate the J-R curve by only load displacement curve without particular crack measurement equipment.
