S|rcss Corrosion Crackin

: Iac|ors Rcsponsiblc
Par|h S. Parikh
Roll No. : 9`2
STRLSS CORROSION CRACKING
W Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is the unexpected sudden Iailure oI normally ductile metals
subjected to a tensile stress in a corrosive environment, especially at elevated temperature in
the case oI metals. SCC is highly chemically speciIic in that certain alloys are likely to
undergo SCC only when exposed to a small number oI chemical environments. The chemical
environment that causes SCC Ior a given alloy is oIten one which is only mildly corrosive to
the metal otherwise. Hence, metal parts with severe SCC can appear bright and shiny, while
being Iilled with microscopic cracks. This Iactor makes it common Ior SCC to go undetected
prior to Iailure. SCC oIten progresses rapidly, and is more common among alloys than pure
metals. The speciIic environment is oI crucial importance, and only very small concentrations
oI certain highly active chemicals are needed to produce catastrophic cracking, oIten leading
to devastating and unexpected Iailure.
W The stresses can be the result oI the crevice loads due to stress concentration, or can be caused
by the type oI assembly or residual stresses Irom Iabrication (e.g. cold working); the residual
stresses can be relieved by annealing.
Stress Corros|on Crack
LTALS ATTACKLD
W CerLaln ausLenlLlc sLalnless sLeels and alumlnlum alloys crack ln Lhe
presence of chlorldes mlld sLeel cracks ln Lhe presence of alkall
(o||er crack|ng) and nlLraLes copper alloys crack
ln ammonlacal soluLlons (season cracklng) 1hls llmlLs Lhe
usefulness of ausLenlLlc sLalnless sLeel for conLalnlng waLer wlLh
hlgher Lhan few ppm conLenL of chlorldes aL LemperaLures above 30
C Worse sLlll hlghLenslle sLrucLural sLeels crack ln an
unexpecLedly brlLLle manner ln a whole varleLy of aqueous
envlronmenLs especlally conLalnlng chlorldes WlLh Lhe posslble
excepLlon of Lhe laLLer whlch ls a speclal example of byJtoqeo
ctockloq all Lhe oLhers dlsplay Lhe phenomenon of
subcrlLlcal crack growLh le small surface flaws propagaLe (usually
smooLhly) under condlLlons where fracLure mechanlcs predlcLs LhaL
fallure should noL occur
W
LN DOLS SCC OCCIR.
Lress corroslon cracklng presenLs an especlally dlfflculL problem slnce noL only ls lL
hlghly locallzed buL lL can occur ln envlronmenLs LhaL are merely mlldly corroslve Lo
Lhe maLerlal 1he damaglng concenLraLlon of Lhe harmful lons ln LhaL envlronmenL
may be qulLe small and dlfflculL Lo deLecL and even ln Lhe absence of applled sLress
resldual sLresses ln a sLrucLure can ofLen be of a sufflclenLly hlgh level Lo cause CC
and fallure ln servlce
CrowLh raLe of CC cracks
W n a glven slLuaLlon Lhe Llme of exposure needed Lo cause CC fallure depends on
Lhe sLress lnLenslLy aL any preexlsLlng or developed crack Llp 1he concenLraLlon of
sLress aL Lhe Llp of a sharp crack or flaw can be quanLlfled ln Lerms of Lhe Lress
nLenslLy lacLor k L deLermlnes Lhe growLh raLe of CC cracks for a speclflc alloy
envlronmenL comblnaLlon CaLasLrophlc fallure of componenL wlll occur when Lhls
facLor reaches a crlLlcal value Lhe lracLure Loughness of Lhe maLerlal k1C 1hls
enables Lhe deLermlnaLlon of allowable defecL slze ln deslgn Lo avold fallure under
glven loadlng condlLlons
W 8elow a Lhreshold value of k1 called k1CC growLh of a crack by CC ls noL
expecLed buL above Lhls value Lhe lnlLlal CC growLh raLe lncreases wlLh lncreaslng
k1 called sLage 1 cracklng
W n sLage 2 Lhe crack growLh raLe ls lndependenL of k1 and depends lnsLead on Lhe
corroslve envlronmenL and LemperaLure uurlng sLage 2 growLh k1 conLlnuous Lo
lncrease and Lhls leads Lo Lhe rapld acceleraLlon of Lhe crack ln sLage 3 and flnal
fasL fracLure when k1 reaches k1C whlch ls Lhe fracLure Loughness of Lhe maLerlal
W 1he hlgher Lhe value of k1CC under glven condlLlons Lhen Lhe greaLer ls Lhe
expecLed CC reslsLance buL some maLerlals do noL appear Lo have a Lhreshold
reslsLance
TLRODYNAICS OI STRLSS
CORROSION CRACKING
W 1he Lhermodynamlcally condlLlons for anodlcally asslsLed CC are LhaL dlssoluLlon or oxldaLlon of
Lhe meLal and lLs dlssoluLlon ln Lhe elecLrolyLe musL be Lhermodynamlcally posslble and LhaL a
proLecLlve fllm such as an oxlde or salL musL be sLable 1he flrsL condlLlon becomes a requlremenL
because wlLhouL oxldaLlon crack advance by dlssoluLlon would noL occur 1haL a process ls
conLrolled by anodlc dlssoluLlon does noL lndlcaLe LhaL Lhe LoLal crack exLenslon ls Lhe sum of Lhe
LoLal number coulombs of charge exchanged aL Lhe crack Llp 1here are crack advance processes ln
whlch Lhe crack advance ls conLrolled by anodlc dlssoluLlon buL ln whlch Lhe LoLal crack lengLh ls
greaLer Lhan LhaL whlch can be accounLed for Lhe LoLal charge Lransfer Powever lL ls lmporLanL Lo
noLe LhaL lf Lhe brlLLle crack advancemenL ls lnlLlaLed and conLrolled by anodlc dlssoluLlon Lhe crack
growLh raLe wlll be zero lf Lhe anodlc currenL denslLy ls zero and wlll lncrease wlLh lncreaslng
currenL denslLy
W 1he Lhermodynamlc requlremenL of slmulLaneous fllm formaLlon and oxldaLlon can be undersLood
from Lhe dlagram shown ln flg ln whlch Lhe raLlo of corroslon currenLs from Lhe walls relaLlve Lo
Lhe crack Llp ls Lhe crlLlcal parameLer 1hls raLlo musL be subsLanLlally less Lhan 1 for a crack Lo
propagaLe CLherwlse Lhe crack wlll blunL or Lhe crack Llp soluLlon wlll saLuraLe Crack lnlLlaLlon
can also be conLrolled by Lhls raLlo because a plL wlLh a hlgh wall corroslon raLe wlll broken fasLer
Lhan lLs peneLraLlon resulLlng ln general corroslon raLher Lhan crack growLh L ls generally belleved
LhaL Lhe acLlvlLy of Lhe crack walls relaLlve Lo Lhe crack Llp ls a consequence of Lhe greaLer dynamlc
sLraln aL Lhe Llp Lhan along Lhe walls
Schemat|c d|agram of stress corros|on crack show|ng
|mportant transport and corros|on react|ons
INTLRGRANILAR STRLSS
CORROSION CRACKING
W ,aLerlal chemlsLry and mlcrosLrucLure effecLs on lnLergranular CC
can be dlvlded lnLo Lhe followlng Lwo caLegorles graln boundary
preclplLaLlon and graln boundary segregaLlon Craln boundary
preclplLaLlon lncludes carblde preclplLaLlon ln ausLenlLlc sLalnless
sLeel and nlckel based Alloys whlch causes depleLlon of chromlum
ad[acenL Lo Lhe graln boundary and lnLermeLalllc preclplLaLlon of
Alumlnlum Alloys whlch are anodlcally acLlve Craln boundary
segregaLlon of lmpurlLles such as phosphorous carbon and sulpher
can produce a graln boundary LhaL ls upLo 30 lmpurlLy wlLhln 12
nm Lhlck reglon 1hese lmpurlLles can alLer Lhe corroslon and
mechanlcal properLles of graln boundary and Lherefore cause
cracklng by anodlc dlssoluLlon and perhaps mechanlcal fracLure
Caust|c SCC |n the nA2 of a type 316L sta|n|ess
stee| NaCn reactor vesse| Cracks are ranch|ng
and |ntergranu|ar
TRANSGRANILAR STRLSS
CORROSION CRACKING
W numerous meLallurglcal facLors affecL Lransgranular CC for example crysLal sLrucLure anlsoLropy
graln slze and shape dlslocaLlon denslLy and geomeLry yleld sLrengLh composlLlon eLc some of
Lhelr effecLs on Lransgranular CC are also relaLed Lo Lhe corroslon behavlor of Lhe alloy whlch can
be undersLood from poLenLlalpP dlagrams or polarlzaLlon curves
W Alloylng effecLs on a sllp plane on a meLallurglcal facLor ln Lransgranular CC lanar sllp occurs ln
alloys wlLh low sLacklng faulL energy alloys exhlblLlng long range or shorL range orderlng n Lhls
mechanlsm Lhe passlve fllm ls rupLured by Lhe emergence of a sllp sLep A number of crack growLh
processes were suggesLed based on a planer sllp locallzed processes llke conLrol of crack advance
solely by anodlc dlssoluLlon of Lhe sllp plane brlLLle fracLure of Lhe corroslon producL or Larnlsh fllm
formed along Lhe locallzed corroslon paLh 1he planar sllp concepL of Lransgranular CC appears
conslsLenL wlLh a number of observaLlons such as alloylng and sLraln raLe effecLs
W 1he laLesL concepL whlch has recelved conslderable aLLenLlon ls Lhe one ln whlch a rapld crack
advance LhaL beglns ln a brlLLle fllm aL Lhe crack Llp lnduces cleavage fracLure of Lhe ducLlle maLerlal
ahead of Lhe crack Llp 1hese lnclude dealloyed layer oxlde nlLrlde or carblde A dealloyed layer
acLlng as a cleavage crack lnlLlaLor ls suggesLed for brass coppergold and lronchromlumnlckel
alloys f Lhls concepL ls supporLed by fuLure research Lhe relaLlve reacLlvlLy of Lhe alloylng
elemenLs wlll prove Lo be a key meLallurglcal facLor ln Lhe Lransgranular CC of maLerlals
1ransgranular CC 304 Lalnless Leel 8ase 308 Lalnless Leel Weld ln
aqueous chlorlde aL 93C
'ARIOIS IACTORS INILILNCING
STRLSS CORROSION CRACKING
W nfluence of elecLrode poLenLlal
W 1he elecLrochemlcal poLenLlal of Lhe alloy can have a marked
lnfluence on Lh Lendency for CC Lo occur lor hydrogen
embrlLLlemenL of hlgh sLrengLh sLeel a more negaLlve poLenLlal wlll
Lend Lo lncrease Lhe raLe of hydrogen evoluLlon and Lhereby Lhe
suscepLlblllLy Lo hydrogen embrlLLlemenL L ls less obvlous how lL
happens buL more poslLlve poLenLlals Lhan Lhe Lyplcal free
corroslon poLenLlal may also lncrease Lhe enLry of hydrogen
W lasLlc ueformaLlon
W 1he few avallable daLa show LhaL plasLlc deformaLlon may exerL a
Lwo fold lnfluence on Lhe raLe of sLress corroslon cracklng ln some
lnsLance lncreaslng and ln anoLher decreaslng lL 1he naLure of
sLress corroslon cracklng may also be changed le LranscrysLalllne Lo
lnLercrysLalllne or vlce versa
W nfluence of sLresses
W 1he lnfluence of sLresses ls dependenL on Lhe naLure of corroslve
envlronmenL Lresses lrrespecLlve of Lhelr naLure lncrease Lhe raLe
of corroslon ln acld envlronmenLs and Lhere ls llnear relaLlonshlp
beLween Lhe lncrease of raLe of corroslon and lncrease of sLress
CerLaln excepLlons can be menLloned
W 8olllng of lead ln PCL
W 177 grade sLalnless sLeel ln PCL aL elevaLed LemperaLure
W Cold rolled pure alumlnlum ln 1n soluLlon of PCL
W nfluence of 1emperaLure
W 1he raLe of corroslon conLlnuously and lnLenslvely lncreases wlLh
lncrease ln LemperaLure of envlronmenL
W nfluence of lze lacLor
W 1he decrease of area Lo volume raLlo sLressed corrodlng speclmens
leads Lo a sharp decrease of Lhe raLe of sLress corroslon cracklng vlz
Armco lron ln 30 bolllng soluLlon of ammonlum nlLraLe
magneslum alloy (Al 63 Zn 1 ,n 02) ln a soluLlon of sodlum
chlorlde and poLasslum chromaLe Al+7 ,g alloy ln a soluLlon of
naCl
W nfluence of Alloylng LlemenL
W 1he degree of lnfluence of alloylng elemenL on CC depends upon
Lhe naLure of alloylng elemenL and envlronmenL prellmlnary heaL
LreaLmenL and mechanlcal LreaLmenL lor example sLress corroslon
raLe lncreases as Lhe carbon conLenL ln sLeel ls lncreased upLo
043 buL furLher lncrease ln Lhe carbon conLenL decreases Lhe raLe
of sLress corroslon
##CS:
W www.nationalphysicallaboratory.co.uk
W www.corrosion-doctors.org
W www.wikipedia.com
W Corrosion Engineering By Mars G. Fontana
W Introduction to Electrometallurgy Corrosion - By Sharan and Narain
W ASM Handbook no. 13 - corrosion
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