Stress-crack corrosion, metals

Nickel confers excellent resistance to alkaline attack and to stress-cracking corrosion and is also quite resistant to nonoxidizing acids. It is widely used to the extent of a few percent in stainless steels (300 series, see Section 16.8), and in several high nickel alloys, including the following proprietary metals ... 

The effect of liquid surfactants can powerfully accelerate stress crack formation. Nevertheless, stress crack formation in plastics must be distinguished from stress crack corrosion as known in particular in metallic materials. Corrosion is understood as the erosion of atoms from the material by chemical processes and in metals particularly by electro-chemical reactions. Additional influence by stresses leads to crack formation and brittle fracture which often resembles of the failure of stress cracks in plastics. Stress crack formation in thermoplastics is, however, a purely physical process. No chemical changes take place in the material even under the influence of surfactants. The terminology is nevertheless not completely uniform. The accelerating effect of liquids on stress crack formation in plastics is occasionally described as stress crack corrosion although no real corrosion process is connected with it. 

Sulfide Stress Cracking Resistant Metallic Materialfor OilField Equipment, NACE Standard MR-01-75, 1980 rev.. Technical Practices Committee, National Association of Corrosion Engineers, Houston, Tex., 1980. 

Stress Corrosion Crocking. Stress corrosion cracking occurs from the combined action of corrosion and stress. The corrosion may be initiated by improper chemical cleaning, high dissolved oxygen levels, pH excursions in the boiler water, the presence of free hydroxide, and high levels of chlorides. Stresses are either residual in the metal or caused by thermal excursions. Rapid startup or shutdown can cause or further aggravate stresses. Tube failures occur near stressed areas such as welds, supports, or cold worked areas. 

Corrosion also occurs as a result of the conjoint action of physical processes and chemical or electrochemical reactions (1 3). The specific manifestation of corrosion is deterrnined by the physical processes involved. Environmentally induced cracking (EIC) is the failure of a metal in a corrosive environment and under a mechanical stress. The observed cracking and subsequent failure would not occur from either the mechanical stress or the corrosive environment alone. Specific chemical agents cause particular metals to undergo EIC, and mechanical failure occurs below the normal strength (5aeld stress) of the metal. Examples are the failure of brasses in ammonia environments and stainless steels in chloride or caustic environments. 

No common industrial metal is immune to corrosion fatigue since some reduction of the metal s resistance to cyclic stressing is observed if the metal is corroded, even mildly, by the environment in which the stressing occurs. Corrosion fatigue produces fine-to-broad cracks with little or no branching. They are typically filled with dense corrosion product. The cracks may occur singly but commonly appear as families of parallel cracks (Fig. 10.2). They are frequently associated with pits, grooves, or other forms of stress concentrators. Like other forms of... 

The most important mechanism involved in the corrosion of metal is electrochemical dissolution. This is the basis of general metal loss, pitting corrosion, microbiologically induced corrosion and some aspects of stress corrosion cracking. Corrosion in aqueous systems and other circumstances where an electrolyte is present is generally electrochemical in nature. Other mechanisms operate in the absence of electrolyte, and some are discussed in Section 53.1.4. 

Cracking mechanisms in which corrosion is implicated include stress corrosion cracking, corrosion fatigue, hydrogen-induced cracking and liquid metal embrittlement. Purely mechanical forms of cracking such as brittle failure are not considered here. 

As with alloys of other metals, nickel alloys may suffer stress-corrosion cracking in certain corrosive environments, although the number of alloy environment combinations in which nickel alloys have been reported to undergo cracking is relatively small. In addition, intergranular attack due to grain boundary precipitates may be intensified by tensile stress in the metal in certain environments and develop into cracking. Table 4.28 lists the major circumstances in which stress corrosion or stress-assisted corrosion of nickel and its alloys have been recorded in service and also shows the preventive and remedial measures that have been adopted, usually with success, in each case. 

A form of corrosion resulting in the transgranular cracking of a metal in an corrosive environment under a cyclical pattern of stress. 

Environmental Cracking The problem of environmental cracking of metals and their alloys is very important. Of all the failure mechanism tests, the test for stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is the most illusive. Stress corrosion is the acceleration of the rate of corrosion damage by static stress. SCC, the limiting case, is the spontaneous cracking that may result from combined effects of stress and corrosion. It is important to differentiate clearly between stress corrosion cracking and stress accelerated corrosion. Stress corro-... 

The term corrosion fatigue is used to describe the premature failure of materials in corrosive environments caused by cyclic stresses. Even mildly corrosive conditions can markedly reduce the fatigue life of a component. Unlike stress corrosion cracking, corrosion fatigue can occur in any corrosive environment and does not depend on a specific combination of corrosive substance and metal. Materials with a high resistance to corrosion must be specified for critical components subjected to cyclic stresses. 

Standard Material Requirements Sulfide Stress Cracking Resistant Metallic Materials for Oilfield Equipment Corrosion Engineers Reference Handbook... 

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