Abstract
The following article was due to be published as part of this supplementary issue but was incorrectly published in a previous issue:
Characterising the early stages of crack development in environment-assisted cracking
Alan Turnbull
Turnball, A. Characterising the early stages of crack development in environment-assisted cracking. Corros Eng Sci Techn. 2017;52(7):533-540.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1478422X.2017.1348761
ABSTRACT
An overview is given of recent NPL research to characterise the early stages of crack development in environment-assisted cracking, focusing on the nature of the crack precursors, the pit-to-crack transition, and the impact of solution chemistry on growth rate in the small and long crack growth rate regime. The impact on corrosion and cracking of surface grinding-induced changes in near-surface material and mechanical properties is highlighted, noting that awareness of this aspect in the corrosion community still remains limited. A major feature is the remarkable insight into the evolution of small surface cracks, from de-alloyed layers and from corrosion pits, provided by advanced 3D imaging. Finally, further evidence for the concept of the solution conductivity-dependent crack-size effect in stress corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue is put forward.