Abstract
Stress corrosion cracking of quenched and tempered steels in hot water is a phenomenon which has only recently been observed in steels with yield strengths from 230 to 1000 MN/m2. In nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels with about 430 MN/m2 yield strength, SCC is transgranular and has a thresholdK, Iscc of about 20 Mn. m−3/2. The maximum crack growth rate is about 7 x 10−8 m/s at 288° C. This threshold and this crack growth rate are identical to the threshold and maximum crack growth rate derived for the time-based component of corrosion fatigue crack growth observed in reactor pressure vessel steels exposed to nuclear reactor coolant at 288° C. The conclusion is drawn that corrosion fatigue crack growth under these conditions can be understood as the superposition of stress corrosion cracking and fatigue crack growth.
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Speidel, M.O. Stress corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue of nuclear reactor pressure vessel steels in hot water. J. Mater. Eng. 9, 157–162 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02833706
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02833706