• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.473-478
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the behaviour of the plastic deformed zone at crack tip on the standard Charpy specimens which were taken from the multi-passed weld block of the pressure vessel steel. Notch was machined on the standard Charpy test specimens and pre-crack which was located around the fusion line was made under the repeat load. Four point bend and acoustic emission tests were carried out simultaneously. The size of plastic region at crack tip was calculated using stress intensity factor. Relationships between characteristics of acoustic emission and plastic zone size at crack tip were discussed through the cumulative AE energy. Regardless of the specimens, AE signals were absent within the elastic region almost and most of AE signals were produced at the plastic deformation region from yield point to the mid-point between yield and maximum load. More AE signals for the weldment were produced compared with the base-metal and PWHT specimen. Relations between plastic deformed zones at crack tip and cumulative AE energy for the weldment and PWHT specimen were different quietly from the base-metal. Besides, number of AE counts for the weldment was the larger than those of the base-metal and PWHT specimen.