Stress corrosion cracking data for steam turbine disc steels are reviewed critically. The effect of material properties (steel cleanliness, yield strength), environment (oxygen, carbon dioxide, chloride level), temperature, and stress conditions, on the initiation and growth of stress corrosion cracks is assessed. For long cracks, growth rates are perceived to be independent of oxygen and CO2 concentration, and steel cleanliness, but the data are not wholly consistent. Unquestionably, the variables having the most dramatic effect are strength level and temperature. For medium strength disc steels, dissolved gases and steel cleanliness influence the ‘initiation’ of stress corrosion cracks, certainly in relation to pit development and growth, but the impact on short crack growth is less well established.
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