Scaling of J–R curves for side grooved pieces

Abstract It has been suggested previously that some of the geometry dependence observed in J based R curves of tearing toughness versus crack growth, when taken to large amounts of growth, can be eliminated by normalising the axes. Data from the literature for side grooved pieces tested in bending are examined to show that scaling can be applied in suitable cases but assessment of the depth of side groove necessary to give a curve independent of geometry is not conclusive.