Fractal characterization of the fracture surface of a high-strength low-alloy steel

The fractal dimension of fracture surfaces of a high-strength low-alloy steel (ASTM A710) has been measured using different ruler lengths. The fractal dimension increases with increasing impact toughness, E, and can be expressed by the quantitative relationship, E=E0e25D′, where E0=1.9 J representing the impact toughness in Euclidean space, and D′ is the fractal dimensional increment, defined by D′=DS−2=DL−1 and DS and DL are respectively, the surface and linear fractal dimensions. © 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers