SCC

STRESS-CORROSION CRACKING (SCC) is a failure process that

occurs because of the simultaneous presence of tensile stress,
an environment, and a susceptible material.

Although manifest mostly in metals, it can also occur in other

engineering solids, such as ceramics and polymers.

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 CAUSTIC EMBRITTLEMENT
• Caustic Embrittlement is a phenomenon that occurs in boilers where caustic
substances accumulate in boiler materials. This occurs as a result of local deposition of
concentrated hydroxide. Caustic embrittlement focuses on the stressed parts of the
boiler, including cracks, bends, rivets and joints. Residual sodium carbonate, which is
used for the softening process, undergoes hydrolysis, forming sodium hydroxide at
high pressures and temperatures. Caustic embrittlement is also known as stress
corrosion cracking.
• The alkaline water enters the minute holes and cracks by capillarity action on the
interior of the boiler. The water then diffuses out of the cracks, leaving behind
hydroxide salts that accumulate when more water evaporates. The hydroxide then
attacks the surrounding material of the boiler and dissolves iron as sodium ferrite.
• This corrosion at high pH levels produces hydrogen, which attacks the crystal structure
of iron, making it hard and brittle. This is highly dangerous because the tube can then
fail at the boiler's normal operating temperature.

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 PREVENTIVE MEASURES
• Controlling the temperature and potential
• Controlling the stress levels and hardness
• Use of materials that do not crack when used in given environments
• Replacing sodium carbonates with sodium sulphates as softening reagents
• Adding lignin, tannin or sodium sulphate that blocks hairline cracks as well
as preventing infiltration of sodium hydroxide into the areas.

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 SEASON CRACKING
• Season cracking occurs most often in copper alloys containing more than
15% zinc. This cracking occurs due to a reaction between ammonia and
copper, forming the cuprammonium ion, a chemical complex which is
water-soluble, and hence washed from the growing cracks. Such
cracking can also occur in copper and any other copper alloy, such as
bronze.
• Season cracking is characterized by deep, brittle cracks which penetrate
into affected components. If the cracks reach a critical size, the
component can suddenly fracture, sometimes with disastrous results. If
the concentration of ammonia is high, then the attack is much more
severe, and all exposed surfaces are subject to cracking.

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 PREVENTIVE MEASURES
• Stress relief
• Annealing
• Avoiding ammonia
• Use of materials known not to crack in the specified
environment
Stress-corrosion cracks ordinarily undergo extensive branching and proceed in a
general direction perpendicular to the stresses contributing to their initiation
and propagation.

Figure 1(a) shows transgranular, branched chloride SCC in a specimen of type

304 stainless steel

Figure 1(b) shows intergranular caustic SCC of 316L stainless steel.

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LIST OF ALLOYS & ENVIRONMENT
SYSTEMS EXHIBITING SCC

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 IMPORTANT FACTS OF SCC
• Highly alloyed ASS display longer times to failure and higher threshold
stresses than types 304 and 304L. This difference is primarily due to a
difference in nickel content.

• In general, binary alloys that contain only very small amounts of

elements other than the two major constituents are quite susceptible to
failure by SCC.

• High-purity metals are generally less susceptible to this type of failure

than most commercial grades of metals and alloys. But later it is proved
wrong, for example SCC of 99.999% pure copper in aqueous ammoniacal
solutions containing Cu(NH3)42+ complex ions.

• The effect of interstitial elements on the susceptibility of metals to SCC is

adequately shown by the behavior of Austenitic SS containing trace
amounts of elemental nitrogen when exposed to a boiling aqueous
solution of magnesium chloride. Below 500 ppm of nitrogen, no cracking
occurs; above 500 ppm, cracking occurs with great rapidity.

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 IMPORTANT FACTS OF SCC
• Effects of Metal Structure : In general, any metal with a small grain size is more
resistant to SCC than the same metal having a large grain size.
• Two-phase brasses (those containing more than about 40% Zn) may crack merely
in water. Single-phase brasses are resistant to cracking in water, and the presence
of a corrodent, such as ammonia or an amine, is necessary to cause cracking in
them.
• Crystal structure also has an effect on SCC. For example, ferritic and duplex
stainless steels (BCC) are much more resistant to SCC when exposed to chlorides
in aqueous solutions than austenitic SS (FCC).
• Precipitation phases in the grain boundaries. The classic example of this is the
sensitization of stainless steels and some nickel-base alloys, which causes them to
suffer intergranular SCC in some environments.
• Welding again plays a significant role in that it causes large changes in the
metallurgical structure of both the weld metal and the heat-affected zone. These
changes, coupled with the residual stresses, result in weld zones being the
frequent site of SCC in service.

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 FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR HYDROGEN CRACKING

• Hydrogen > 15 ml hydrogen per 100 mg weld metal

• Temperature < 350° C
• Hardness > 400 VPN (Vickers pyramid number)
• Presence of Stress > 50 % yield (Maybe Residual)
HOW TO AVOID HYDROGEN CRACKING
1. Hydrogen a) parent material dried (free from moisture).
b) low hydrogen rods (baked to less than 5 ml per 100 mg).
c) use lower potential hydrogen process (hydrogen potential - electron < TIG < MIG/MAG < SAW, MMA (low H)
< MMA (rutile))
d) heat treatment (pre and post weld)
2. Temperature post weld heat treatment. (keep at a higher temperature as long as possible to help hydrogen
diffusion. NDT as late as possible - 72 hours.)
3. Hardness a) preheating (to reduce the cooling rate)
b) keep interpass temperature to a minimum
c) Optimum heat input
d) post weld heat treatment -tempers hard HAZ, removes H2, reduces stress
4. Stress a) joint design
b) fit up
c) distortion control
d) stress relieve treatment (pre and post weld)