Resistance to stress

C725, a 9 wt % nickel alloy that is further strengthened by 2 wt % tin, is used in electrical connectors and bellows. Properties are summari2ed in Table 21. The alloy has good resistance to stress relaxation at room and moderately elevated temperatures, which accounts for its use in connectors and electrical circuit wire wrap pins. 

Typical properties of these alloys are shown in Table 25. In addition, these alloys exhibit notably excellent resistance to stress relaxation at high appHcation temperatures, for instance 200°C, and in this respect outperform beryUium—copper. However, the electrical conductivity of the strongest Cu—Ni—Sn composition (C729) is lower than that of C172. 

The excellent electrical insulation properties of polyethylene have led to extensive use in cable and other wire-covering applications. Spectacular early uses included undersea cables and airborne radar and the materials continue to be used in substantial quantities. One particular trend is the increasing use of cross-linked polyethylene for this area of use. Such materials have improved heat resistance and in addition have given generally better resistance to stress cracking. Cellular polyethylene is used as the insulator for television downlead aerials. 

Interest in EVA as a cable-insulating material has arisen because of the good resistance to stress cracking and because the polymer may be more easily cross-linked (see Table 11.12). 

To enhance the resistance to heat softening his-phenol A is substituted by a stiffer molecule. Conventional bis-phenol A polycarbonates have lower heat distortion temperatures (deflection temperatures under load) than some of the somewhat newer aromatic thermoplastics described in the next chapter, such as the polysulphones. In 1979 a polycarbonate in which the bis-phenol A was replaced by tetramethylbis-phenol A was test marketed. This material had a Vicat softening point of 196 C, excellent resistance to hydrolysis, excellent resistance to tracking and a low density of about l.lg/cm-. Such improvements were obtained at the expense of impact strength and resistance to stress cracking. 

Low water absorption and good chemical resistance, including resistance to stress cracking. 

Polyethylene can be chlorinated in solution in carbon tetrachloride or in suspension in the piescnce ot a catalyst. Below 55-60% chlorine, it is more stable and more compatible with many polymers, especially polyvinyl chloride, to which it gives increased impact strength. The low pressure process copolymerizes polyethylene with propylene and butylene to increase its resistance to stress cracking. Copolymerization with vinyl acetate at high pressure increases flexibility, resistance to stress cracking, and seal ability of value to the food industry. 

S = Safety what are the consequences of failure If they are serious, a more resistant material than usual may be justified. For example, on a plant where leaking v. ater would react violently with process materials, the water lines were made from a grade of steel resistant to stress corrosion cracking (from the chloride in the cooling water) as well as rust. 

Change the alloy to one which is more resistant to stress-corrosion cracking. 

Resistance to stress-corrosion cracking Commercially pure titanium is very resistant to stress-corrosion cracking in those aqueous environments that usually constitute a hazard for this form of failure, and with one or two exceptions, detailed below, the hazard only becomes significant when titanium is alloyed, for example, with aluminium. This latter aspect is discussed in Section 8.5 under titanium alloys. 

Fig, 8.99 Relative resistance to stress-corrosion cracking of three aluminium alloys subjected to different environments. The stress levels employed corresponded to 75, 50 and 25% of the respective transverse yield strengths (after Liflca and Sprowls )... 

The other effect of having a stretched area is a reduction in resistance to stress cracking. Crazing is a possibility in such areas such as in polystyrenes, and environmental stress cracking caused by solvent substances will occur in the stretched areas. This is a particularly important consideration in vacuum formed products used for packaging food that frequently has some solvent action on the plastics. 

Most types of SS used for water treatment have an Austenitic crystalline structure (centre-faced cubic). Others are Ferritic (centred cubic), Marstenitic (quadratic), or Austeno-ferritic types, which have superior mechanical strength and are resistant to stress corrosion. 

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