Bluehill® Fracture Standards Library
Bluehill Fracture is Instron's fracture toughness analysis software for Windows, providing a full library of standards-compliant calculations for KIc, KIsi, CTODc, Jc, and JIc across a wide range of specimen geometries and international test standards.
Tests and Specimens by Standard
| Analysis Result | Measurement | Specimen | |||||||||||||
| KIc | KIsi | CTODc | Jc | JIc | Clip-Gauge | DCPD | C(T) Straight Notch | C(T) Load Line | SEN(B) | Disc Straight Notch | Disc Load Line | Arc Tension | Arc Bend | M(T) | |
| ASTM E399-24 | |||||||||||||||
| ASTM E1820-25a | |||||||||||||||
| ISO 12135:2021 | |||||||||||||||
| GB/T 21143-2014 | |||||||||||||||
| BS 7448-1:1991 | |||||||||||||||
| ASTM E647-24 | |||||||||||||||
| ISO 12108:2019 | |||||||||||||||
Standards and Specimens by Test Type
| Brittle KIc | Brittle/Basic CTOD or J | Ductile JIc (single specimen) | Ductile JIc (DCPD) | Crack Growth *Excludes post-test analysis |
||||
| Standards → | ASTM E399-24 | ISO 12135:2021 (GB/T 21143-2014) |
ASTM E1820-25a | ISO 12135:2021 (BS 7448-1:1991) (GB/T 21143-2014) |
ASTM E1820-25a | ISO 12135:2021 (GB/T 21143-2014) |
ASTM E1820-25a | ASTM E647-24 ISO 12108:2018 (GB/T 6398-2017) |
| Specimens ↓ | ||||||||
| C(T) Straight Notch | ||||||||
| C(T) Load Line | ||||||||
| SEN(B) | ||||||||
| Disc Straight Notch | ||||||||
| Disc Load Line | ||||||||
| Arc Tension | ||||||||
| Arc Bend | ||||||||
| M(T) | ||||||||
*Ductile JIc (DCPD) excludes post-test analysis.
ASTM E3076 Automated Slope Determination
Bluehill Fracture includes automated slope determination in accordance with ASTM E3076 — a methodology explicitly recommended within ASTM E399 for "brittle" linear-elastic plane strain fracture toughness (KIc) testing.
Instron is the only global manufacturer to have participated in the pre-publication development of E3076 and implemented it immediately in fracture toughness software at first release. A recent round-robin project — with analysts from multiple laboratories using a range of software tools — showed that incorporating the E3076 methodology can reduce variability in analysis results (of identical data) by up to a factor of 10.
Datasets for Training and Verification
Bluehill Fracture automatically installs a number of example test files and methods, intended as an educational tool to help users explore method setup and typical results before running their own tests.
For ASTM E1820, a number of datasets are published as an adjunct to the standard, with expected analysis results, to assist in validating analysis tools. The Bluehill Fracture installation includes these datasets converted into Bluehill Fracture file format, providing straightforward evidence of verification for JIc analysis.
Historic Standards
Bluehill Fracture continues to support analysis of KIc, CTODc, and Jc according to BS 7448-1:1991. This standard is now withdrawn and has been superseded by BS EN ISO 12135:2021.
In 2022, a corrigendum to ISO 12135:2021 was published, changing the formulae used to calculate CTOD — a symbol had been completely missing from the original 2021 publication. This omission leads to a significant difference in the returned value, so users working from the original 2021 text rather than the corrigendum should confirm they are using the corrected formula.
Complex Tests
For advanced testing needs — including fatigue crack growth studies or fracture toughness tests outside current standardization — contact Instron to discuss the advanced tools available in WaveMatrix3 software.
Webpage last updated October 2025, for Bluehill Fracture version 2.7.
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