Fracture Mechanisms of S355 Steel—Experimental Research, FEM Simulation and SEM Observation

In this study, the fracture mechanisms of S355 ferritic steel were analyzed. In order to obtain different mechanisms of fracture (completely brittle, mixed brittle and ductile or completely ductile), tests were carried out over a temperature range of −120 to +20 °C. Our experimental research was supplemented with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of the specimens’ fracture surfaces. Modeling and load simulations of specimens were performed using the finite element method (FEM) in the ABAQUS program, and accurate calibration of the true stress–strain material dependence was made. In addition, the development of mechanical fields before the crack tip of the cracking process in the steel was analyzed. The distributions of stresses and strains in the local area before the crack front were determined for specimens fractured according to different mechanisms. Finally, the conditions and characteristic values of stresses and strains which caused different mechanisms of fracture—fully brittle, mixed brittle and ductile or fully ductile—were determined.