Stress Corrosion Cracking of Austenitic Stainless Steels

Delayed Cracking of Metastable Austenitic Stainless Steels after Deep Drawing

In metastable austenitic stainless steels, strain-induced martensitic transformation during plastic deformation enhances work hardening of the material, increasing its strength and in some cases also ductility.1,2) The presence of α’-martensite, however, may increase the susceptibility of these materials to hydrogen embrittlement phenomena, for example delayed cracking.3–6) Delayed cracking can...

Stress Corrosion Cracking of an Austenitic Stainless Steel in Nitrite-Containing Chloride Solutions

This article describes the susceptibility of 316L stainless steel to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in a nitrite-containing chloride solution. Slow strain rate testing (SSRT) in 30 wt. % MgCl₂ solution established SCC susceptibility, as evidenced by post-SSRT fractography. Addition of nitrite to the chloride solution, which is reported to have inhibitive influence on corrosion of stainless ste...

A Continuum Damage Model for the Stress Corrosion Cracking of Austenitic Stainless Steel

In the present work, the mechanical behavior of stress corrosion cracking phenomenon is described. Such phenomenon presents strong complexity due to metallurgic and electrochemical aspects. A methodology for modeling both SSR (Slow Strain Rate) and CL (Constant Load) tests based upon thermodynamics of continuum solids and elastoplastic damage is proposed. In this macroscopic approach, besides t...

Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance of Martensitic Stainless Steels for Transmutation Applications

Low-Temperature Carburization of Austenitic Stainless Steels

LOW-TEMPERATURE CARBURIZATION is a gaseous carburization process performed at atmospheric pressure, at temperatures where the kinetics of substitutional diffusion are very slow. Low-temperature carburization hardens the surface of austenitic stainless steels through the diffusion of interstitial carbon, without the formation of carbides. The surface must be activated, by modification and remova...