Applicability of the Competition Concept in Determining the Stress Corrosion Cracking Behavior of Austenitic Stainless Steels in Chloride Solutions

Abstract

The competition concept states that stress corrosion cracking (SCC) can only occur when the crack growth rate exceeds the dissolution rate; moreover, based upon this concept, that there also exist a critical temperature for SCC of austenitic stainless steels in chloride solutions which SCC can not occur at or below this temperature. The objective of this study is to explain both the observed SCC potential region and the SCC critical temperature obtained for 18Cr-14Ni steels by referring to the competition concept. The SCC potential range was found to be the potential range between the crevice repassivation potential and the potential where the crack growth rate equals the dissolution rate. The SCC critical temperature was found to be the temperature where the crack growth rate and the dissolution rate intercept in an Arrhenius plot. Thus, this study has confirmed the applicability of the competition concept in determining the stress corrosion cracking behavior of austenitic steels in chloride solution.