Slow Strain-Rate Testing in High Temperature Water

Abstract

The apparatus and technique employed in slow strain-rate testing of stainless steels in high temperature high purity water are described and discussed. Typical results from work in progress on the influence of heat treatment and surface treatment on the intergranular stress corrosion cracking of Types 304 and 308 stainless steel and Alloy XM-19 are described. The correspondence between strain-rate tests varies from alloy to alloy. The minimum strain rate required to cause intergranular cracking varied significantly with the alloy and with the surface treatment. It is suggested that reduction of area and observation of the fracture mode provide better measures of environmental interactions than measures of tensile parameters obtained from the test records.