Potential dependence of SCC susceptibility and film characteristics was investigated in 563K high purity water, using a new potentiostat with a dynamic potential drop compensator.Slow strain rate tests were conducted on sensitized Type 304 stainless steel under controlled potentials, and oxide films formed during the tests were analyzed. SCC susceptibility and film characteristics clearly depended on the controlled potential.Slight transgranular SCC was observed in the region from the corrosion potential to the beginning potential of passivity. Intergranular SCC took

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Stress corrosion crack growth during slow strain rate testing was investigated using elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. Thin compact and center-notched specimens of sensitized Type 304 stainless steel were examined at different extension rates in high temperature oxygenated water. The analytical results showed that the crack growth rate has a best correlation with a time differential of the J-integral, which is an estimate of a crack tip deformation rate. Based on the analysis, a new mechanistic model under both monotonic and cyclic loadings was suggested, where cracking was classified into three categories depending on the environmental acceleration, i.e., mechanical cracking, corrosion enhanced mechanical cracking, and stress corrosion cracking.