• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.209-221
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• 2002

In this paper a fracture criterion is proposed for cracked cylindrical samples of high-strength prestressing steels of different yield strength. The surface crack is assumed to be semi-elliptical, a geometry very adequate to model sharp defects produced by any subcritical mechanism of cracking: mechanical fatigue, stress-corrosion cracking, hydrogen embrittlement or corrosion fatigue. Two fracture criteria with different meanings are considered: a global (energetic) criterion based on the energy release rate G, and a local (stress) criterion based on the stress intensity factor $K_I$. The advantages and disadvantages of both criteria for engineering design are discussed in this paper on the basis of many experimental results of fracture tests on cracked wires of high-strength prestressing steels of different yield strength and with different degrees of strength anisotropy.