Stress corrosion crack initiation testing with tapered specimens in high-temperature water – results of a collaborative research project

The applicability of an accelerated test technique using tapered tensile specimens for investigating the stress corrosion crack (SCC) initiation behaviour of structural materials in high-temperature water was assessed in the framework of a European collaborative research project (MICRIN – MItigation of CRack INitiation). The main advantage of using a tapered geometry is, that in a single test a stress gradient is obtained through the gauge length, and therefore a stress threshold for SCC initiation can be determined in a reasonable timeframe. This method was used to investigate two different materials that were known to be susceptible to SCC in light water reactor environment: a high-Si stainless steel and a Ni-base weld metal (Alloy 182). The results of the international test programme confirmed that the tapered specimen test methodology could be used to identify a SCC initiation stress threshold, albeit that significant scatter was present in the data.

BOSCH Rik-Wouter;  RITTER Stefan;  HERBST Matthias;  KILIAN Renate;  BURKE Grace;  DUFF Jonathan;  SCENINI Fabio;  GU Yuchen;  DINU Alice;  EHRNSTEN Ulla;  TOIVONEN Aki;  NOVOTNY Radek;  MARTIN Oliver;  PEROSANZ F. J.;  LEGAT Andraz;  ZAJEC Bojan; 

2021-04-06

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

JRC120881

1478-422X (online),   

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1478422X.2020.1815460,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC120881,   

10.1080/1478422X.2020.1815460 (online),