“…Based on the SCC statistics identified in the French PWRs by Couvant et al [1], most of the cases were identified after a period of at least of 50000 hours. Literature results also indicate that the water chemistry [9][10][11], testing temperature [12], degree and paths of pre-strain [9,10,13,14] and surface finish [15][16][17] and heat treatment are the main factors that influence SCC. Furthermore, when austenitic stainless steels are exposed to high temperature water, a double layer structured oxide layer forms, which consists of a fine grained, compact, and chromium-rich inner oxide layer Kruska et al and Lozano-Perez suggest that the oxidation which preferentially occurs along the grain boundaries and slip bands could be one of the possible reasons for the occurrence of SCC.…”