Tapered specimens were used for an accelerated test technique to study the crack initiation of high Si stainless steel by means of constant elongation rate tensile testing in a simulated pressurised water reactor environment. Detailed crack density distributions were obtained by applying an advanced crack detection algorithm on iteratively displaced scanning electron microscopy pictures featuring stress corrosion cracks along the specimen's gauge length. By means of finite-element analysis, prominent peaks in the crack density graphs are demonstrated to be related to stress relief and stress build-up during the crack initiation phase. Intrinsic scatter related to the crack detection suggests that stress corrosion cracking is independent of the strain-rate for strain-rates lower than 10−6 s−1. Based on the extrapolation to constant load conditions, the critical threshold value for the duplex high Si stainless steel is estimated to be around 580 MPa.
CattantFLaugierC.Materials aging in light water reactors handbook of destructive assays. Cachan: Lavoisier; 2014.
2.
BruemmerSMSimonenEPScottPM. Radiation-induced material changes and susceptibility to intergranular failure of light-water-reactor core internals. J Nucl Mater. 1999; 274 (3): 299–314. doi: 10.1016/S0022-3115(99)00075-6
3.
RaoAS.Degradation of LWR core internal materials owing to neutron irradiation, NUREG/CR-7027; 2010.
4.
ScottPM.Stress corrosion cracking in pressurized water reactors – Interpretation, modeling, and remedies. Corrosion. 2000; 56 (8): 771–782. doi: 10.5006/1.3280580
5.
WasGSAndresenPL.Stress corrosion cracking behavior of alloys in aggressive nuclear reactor core environments. Corrosion. 2007; 63 (1): 19–45. doi: 10.5006/1.3278331
6.
AndresenPL.Emerging issues and fundamental processes in environmental cracking in hot water. Corrosion. 2008; 64 (5): 439–464. doi: 10.5006/1.3278483
7.
HojnáA.Irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking and impact on life extension. Corrosion. 2013; 69 (10): 964–974. doi: 10.5006/0803
8.
HojnáA.Overview of intergranular fracture of neutron irradiated austenitic stainless steels. Metals (Basel). 2017; 7 (10): 392. doi: 10.3390/met7100392
9.
BoschRWVankeerberghenMGérardR. Crack initiation testing of thimble tube material under PWR conditions to determine a stress threshold for IASCC. J Nucl Mater. 2015; 461: 112–121. doi: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2015.02.038
ConermannJShoganRFujimotoK. Irradiation effects in a highly irradiated cold worked stainless steel removed from a commercial PWR. In: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power System – Water Reactors, TMS, 2005, p. 277.
BaiJRitterSSeifertHP. Using tapered specimens to study the effect of hydrogen and surface finish on SCC initiation in alloy 182 under boiling water reactor conditions. Corros Eng Sci Technol. 2017; 52 (8): 558–566. doi: 10.1080/1478422X.2017.1340245
14.
BaiJRitterSSeifertHP. The minerals, metals & materials series. Proceedings of the 18th international conference on environmental degradation of materials in nuclear power systems – water reactors.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04639-2_131.
15.
SchindelinJArganda-CarrerasIFriseE. Fiji: an open-source platform for biological-image analysis. Nat Methods. 2012; 9 (7): 676–682. doi: 10.1038/nmeth.2019
16.
KilianRDevrientB.Experimental data on crack initiation, FP6 project PERFECT deliverable C35c; 2008.
17.
TsaiWTWenYNLeeJT. Effect of silicon addition on the microstructure and corrosion behavior of sintered stainless steel. Surf Coatings Technol. 1988; 34 (3): 209–217. doi: 10.1016/0257-8972(88)90113-2
18.
PangJCXuBYWangGD. Effect of silicon and aluminium in ferrite on tensile and impact properties. Mater Sci Technol. 2017; 33 (15): 1806–1810. doi: 10.1080/02670836.2017.1320085
19.
CouvantTVaillantFBoursierJM. Effect of strain-path on stress corrosion cracking of AISI 304L stainless steel in PWR primary environment at 360°C, Corros. Issues Light Water React. Stress Corros. Crack. p. 87-102, 2007.
20.
StegerC.An unbiased detector of curvilinear structures. IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intell. 1998; 20 (2): 113–125. doi: 10.1109/34.659930
21.
JacquesPJGiraultEMertensA. The developments of cold-rolled TRIP-assisted multiphase steels. Al-alloyed TRIP-assisted multiphase steels. ISIJ Int. 2001; 41 (9): 1068–1074. doi: 10.2355/isijinternational.41.1068
22.
ShenZZhangLTangR. SCC susceptibility of type 316Ti stainless steel in supercritical water. J Nucl Mater. 2015; 458: 206–215. doi: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2014.12.014
