Effects of loading mode and water chemistry on stress corrosion crack growth behavior of 316L HAZ and weld metal materials in high temperature pure water

Effects of Hydrogen Water Chemistry on Stress Corrosion Cracking Behavior of Cold-Worked 304L Stainless Steel in High-Temperature Water Environments

“…No crack growth was observed in the AR specimens during the SCC test. For the CR specimens, an SCC incubation period was observed during the first 100 h. 6,7,14) In the oxygenated environment, the SCC growth rates were substantially increased with increases in the degree of cold work. The crack growth rate of the 5% CR specimen slowed over time at an average crack growth rate of 9.3 © 10 ¹11 m·s ¹1 .…”

“…15,16) Hydrogen injection is widely used to suppress the corrosion and SCC of BWR plant components because of the low electrochemical potential in hydrogen water chemistry (HWC) environments. 14,17,18) As stated previously, cold work and HWC are two crucial parameters that influence SCC propagation in high-temperature water. In recent years, the effects of SCC growth behaviors have been examined separately and synergistically; however, few studies have investigated the fracture mechanism of SCC at the crack tip for cold-worked austenitic SSs in high-temperature oxygenated or HWC water.…”

“…The synergistic effects of plastic strain and sensitization on SCC have been investigated extensively. 8,9,14) In addition to sensitization, the combined effects that the environment and cold work exert on SCC have been examined. For example, Tice et al 8) discussed the influences of loading modes, dissolved hydrogen concentrations, and the pH value (a measure of the acidity or basicity of aqueous solution) of water environments on the SCC of cold-worked type 304 SS in PWR primary coolant conditions.…”

In-Beam Stress Corrosion Tests for Welded 308 Stainless Steel in Pure Water at 473 K

“…7,8) Electrochemical monitoring is well recognized as a useful way to estimate the state of the passive film on a specimen surface. Because the electrochemical potential reflects the activation of electrochemical reactions, the inactivation of reactions due to the growth of passive film is perceived by the increase of ECP.…”

“…Among these zones, the weld metal of austenitic stainless steel has been designed to have a cast structure with ferrite phases in the austenite matrix in order to prevent hot-cracking during weld metal solidification. 3,4) In exchange for this merit, preferential formation of corrosion pits at the boundaries of ferrite phases 5,6) and the initiation of SCC along the boundaries 7,8) have been pointed out for weld metals. Besides these factors, it is well accepted that neutron irradiation can strongly modify SCC behavior by radiolysis of coolant water and microstructural/microchemical changes in materials produced by displacement damage.…”