The Qualitative Mechanism Of Stress Corrosion Cracking Of Austenitic Stainless Steels

The problem of stress corrosion cracking (SCC), which causes sudden failure of metals and other materials subjected to stress in corrosive environment(s), has a significant impact on a number of sectors including the oil and gas industries and nuclear power production. Stress corrosion cracking reviews the fundamentals of the phenomenon as well as examining stress corrosion behaviour in specific materials and particular industries. The book is divided into four parts. Part one covers the mechanisms of SCC and hydrogen embrittlement, while the focus of part two is on methods of testing for SCC in metals. Chapters in part three each review the phenomenon with reference to a specific material, with a variety of metals, alloys and composites discussed, including steels, titanium alloys and polymer composites. In part four, the effect of SCC in various industries is examined, with chapters covering subjects such as aerospace engineering, nuclear reactors, utilities and pipelines. With its distinguished editors and international team of contributors, Stress corrosion cracking is an essential reference for engineers and designers working with metals, alloys and polymers, and will be an invaluable tool for any industries in which metallic components are exposed to tension, corrosive environments at ambient and high temperatures. Examines the mechanisms of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) presenting recognising testing methods and materials resistant to SCC Assesses the effect of SCC on particular metals featuring steel, stainless steel, nickel-based alloys, magnesium alloys, copper-based alloys and welds in steels Reviews the monitoring and management of SCC and the affect of SCC in different industries such as petrochemical and aerospace

The purpose of this discussion is to assess the state of our understanding concerning the factors and mechanism(s) which determine and control the susceptibility to stress-corrosion cracking of the austenitic stainless steels. The growing importance of this problem has led to a considerable amount of research, both in this country and abroad, aimed at delineating more specifically the environmental, compositional, and structural conditions involved and at elucidating the underlying mechanism for the cracking phenomenon. As a result of this research effort, a number of mechanisms have been proposed, but all appear to contain certain deficiencies in explaining certain of the characteristic features of the stress-corrosion cracking process; that is to say, unequivocal arguments cannot be presented in behalf of any of the proposed mechanisms. Possibly more to the point is the fact that few of the currently debated mechanisms have yielded critical clues which could lead to compositional or structural modifications of commercial materials to reduce or prevent the incidence of cracking. It is encouraging to note, however, that the more recent experimental evidence is developing a basis whereby critical type of experiments can be designed to differentiate clearly the mode of damage.