Acoustic Emission Methodology to Evaluate the Fracture Toughness in Heat Treated AISI D2 Tool Steel

In this article, fracture toughness behavior of tool steel was investigated using Acoustic Emission (AE) monitoring. Fracture toughness (KIC) values of a specific tool steel was determined by applying various approaches based on conventional AE parameters, such as Acoustic Emission Cumulative Count (AECC), Acoustic Emission Energy Rate (AEER), and the combination of mechanical characteristics and AE information called sentry function. The critical fracture toughness values during crack propagation were achieved by means of relationship between the integral of the sentry function and cumulative fracture toughness (KICUM). Specimens were selected from AISI D2 cold-work tool steel and were heat treated at four different tempering conditions (300, 450, 525, and 575 °C). The results achieved through AE approaches were then compared with a methodology proposed by compact specimen testing according to ASTM standard E399. It was concluded that AE information was an efficient method to investigate fracture characteristics.