The Effects of Stress to Corrosion
influence of tensile stress and corrosive
Stress
 Pressure or tension exerted on a material
object
Types of Stress
1. Compression
- is the result of axially-loaded forces
pointing towards the center of an
object.
2. Tension
- is caused when axially-loaded forces
are pulling away from an object's
center, and perpendicular to the
object's surface.
3. Shear
- is caused when the forces applied to
an object are parallel to the object's
cross-section.
4. Bending
- The forces cause the object to bend,
usually in a downward direction
5. Torsion
- is the twisting of an object due to an
applied torque
6. Fatigue
- is the weakening of a material caused
by repeatedly applied loads
Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC)
 It is cracking due to a process involving
conjoint corrosion and straining of a metal
due to residual or applied stresses
 It is cracking induced from the combined
environment.
 It can lead to unexpected sudden failure of
normally ductile metals subjected to a
tensile stress, especially at elevated
temperatures.
 Occurs in alloys with a static tensile stress in
the presence of specific environmental
conditions.
 Pure metals are comparatively more
resistant to SCC.
 SCC is an insidious form of corrosion; it
produces a marked loss of mechanical
strength with little metal loss; the damage is
not obvious to casual inspection and the
stress corrosion cracks can trigger
mechanical fast fracture and catastrophic
failure of components and structures.
SCC happens due to the combined actions of:
 A susceptible material or corrosive medium.
 An environment that causes SCC for that
material.
 Sufficient tensile stress.
Source of Tensile Stress
1. Residual stress caused by cold work.
2. Residual stress induced by heating and
cooling during heat treatment and welding.
3. Assembly stress.
4. Stresses caused by accidental dents, notches
and pre-existing cracks.
5. Localized pressure generated by corrosion
products build-build up in locked-up spaces.
Three basic mechanisms of SCC
1. Active Path Dissolution
 Also called as anodic dissolution,
slip dissolution or stress enhanced
dissolution.
 Cracks initiate at the surface sites of
localized concentration of tensile
strength.
 Active Path:
o Grain Boundaries
2. Hydrogen Embrittlement
o Specific crystal planes within
the grains
 Active path corrosion processes are
inherently limited by the rate of
corrosion of the metal at the crack
tip, which limits the maximum crack
growth rate to around 10^-2mm/s,
and crack growth rates are often
much lower, down to around 10^-8
mm/s (about 1 mm in 3 years) or
less.
 PROCESS:
1. Brittle passive oxide film is
ruptured at the crack tip
under tensile stress resulting
in exposure of active metal.
2. The bare metal surface
undergoes anodic
dissolution.
3. As a result of the corrosion
process, the crack tip surface
is re-passivated forming a
new protective oxide film
 PREVENTION
1. Selection of suitable material.
2. Avoiding residual stress
induced by heating and
cooling during heat
treatment and welding.
3. Avoiding notches, accidental
dents and rough surface
finish.
4. Stress relief heat treatment
after cold work
5. Applying compressive
strength.
6. Cathodic Protection
7. Corrosion Protection
coatings.
 Enhanced by cathodic reaction
H+ + e - H
 Hydrogen dissolves in all metals to a
moderate extent. It is a very small
atom, and fits in between the metal
atoms in the crystals of the metal.
 It can diffuse much more rapidly
than larger atoms.
 These effects lead to embrittlement
of the metal; cracking may be either
inter- or transgranular. Crack growth
rates are typically relatively rapid, up
to 1 mm/s in the most extreme cases.
 The atomic hydrogen dissolve in the
metal where its ions interact with
dislocations of the crystal lattice
causing decrease of ductility
(hydrogen embrittlement).
 PREVENTION:
1. Selection of suitable
materials.
2. Maintaining the environment
solution at neutral or basic
pH (pH > 6)
3. Film Induced Cleavage
 The most common anodic
mechanism of SCC.
  Propagate by alternate film fracture
followed by rapid film formation
over exposed metal
 The brittle films that are best-
established as causing film-induced
cleavage are de-alloyed layers (e.g.
in brass).
 The film-induced cleavage process
would normally be expected to
give a transgranular fracture.
 PROCESS:
1. The walls and tip of the
crack are covered with a
brittle film.
2. The film at the crack tip is
ruptured by plastic strain.
3. The brittle crack moves
from the film into the
matrix.
4. The crack is blunted by
plastic strain.
5. For the crack to grow
further, the surface film
must reform at the crack tip
surface.
Possible ways to protect metal from SCC
 Avoid the chemical species that causes SCC.
 Control of hardness and stress level
 Introduce compressive stress by shot-
peening for example.
 Use of materials known not to crack in the
specified environment.
 Control operating temperature and/or the
electrochemical potential of the alloy.
Corrosion Fatigue Cracking (CFC)
 Corrosion-fatigue is the result of the
combined action of an alternating or cycling
stresses and a corrosive environment
 The fatigue process is thought to cause
rupture of the protective passive film, upon
which corrosion is accelerated
 The fatigue fracture is brittle and the cracks
are most often transgranular, as in stress-
corrosion cracking, but not branched
 The corrosive environment can cause a
faster crack growth and/or crack growth at a
lower tension level than in dry air
 Common types of corrosion include:
 Uniform,
 Pitting
 Exfoliation
 Intergranular;
Each will affect crack growth in a
particular material in a distinct way.
Possible ways to protect metal from CFC:
 Minimize or eliminate cyclic stresses
 Reduce stress concentration or redistribute
stress
 Select the correct shape of critical sections
 Provide against rapid changes of loading,
temperature, or pressure
 Avoid Internal stress
 Avoid fluttering and vibration-producing or
vibration-transmitting design
 Increase natural frequency for reduction of
resonance corrosion fatigue
 Limit corrosion factor in the corrosion-
fatigue process