The experimental procedure for measurement of the notch fracture toughness using a non-standard curved specimen with a notch simulating the expected scratch damage of pipelines has been developed. The notch fracture toughness J?,c in terms of the J-integral has been estimated by means of Finite Element Analysis. The proposed procedure allows avoiding calculation of the stress intensity factor for non-standard specimens to determine the notch fracture toughness J?,c. Development of the present methodology encourages replacing the conservative crack-like defects approach
