Slip step

Fig. 8.2 Strain-generated active path mechanisms, (a) Often referred to as the film rupture model and (b) the slip step dissolution model. In both cases growth is by dissolution film rupture is the rate controlling step, not the mechanism of crack growth...

Fig. 8.3 Schematic representation of the stress corrosion cracking mechanism of the pit (after Pickering and Swann ). (a) Tubular pits initiated at solute-rich slip step. The pits may, but need not necessarily, follow the slip plane once they are initiated, (b) Ductile tearing along a plane containing the tubular pits. The stress is increased across the plane because of the reduced cross section and the stress raising effect...

Dislocations are readily visible in thin-film transmission electron micrographs, as shown in Figs. 20.28 (top) and 20.33 (top). The slip step (Fig. 20.31c) produced by the passage of a single dislocation is not readily apparent. However, for a variety of reasons, a large number of dislocations often move on the same slip plane or on bands of closely adjacent slip planes this results in slip steps which are very easily seen in the light microscope, as shown by the slip lines in Fig. 20.33 (bottom). 

Once the crack is initiated, the metal surface inside the crack may be quite different from the normal surface of the metal. Thus, in the course of plastic deformation, the metal could have developed slip steps [see Fig. 12.77(c)] which contain crystallographic planes of high Miller index at which the specific dissolution rate (or exchange current density) may be larger than that at the normal metal surface. Anodic current densities of some 104 times those at a passive surface have been shown to appear at a metal surface that is yielding under stress (Despic and Raicheff, 1978). 

Surface films appear to play a major role in the initiation of SCC and may also contribute to hydrogen embrittlement effects. It is assumed that the main role of the surface film is to localize the damage inflicted on the material by the environment. This can be caused by mechanical breakdown of the protective film by slip step or electromechanical breakdown of the passive film.95 SCC may be related to the nature of the surface film. It has been observed that the SCC of C-Steels is related to the presence of magnetite in several low -temperature environments (around 90°C), except... 

The SEM images of the Berkovich indentations in the (111) surface of B4.3C reveal the presence of discrete deformation bands within the indentation contact area, which apparently follow the sample crystallography (Fig. 44). Similar features have been observed previously in TiB2 and AI2O3 [213] and discussed in detail in connection with the indentation size effect by Bull et al. [214]. It was proposed [214] that the yielding beneath the indenter occurs nonuniformly in some hard materials and the discrete dislocation slip-steps are generated to re-... 

For some material-environment combinations it has been shown that accelerated anodic dissolution of yielding metal is the significant mechanism. This is the case for austenitic stainless steels in acidic chloride solutions. In these steels, plastic deformation is characterized by a dislocation pattern giving wide slip steps on the surface. For such systems, Scully [7.50] has proposed a model for initiation and development of stress corrosion cracks, which has been supported by other scientists [7.51]. The model in its simplest form is illustrated in Figure 7.52. A necessary condition is that flie surface from the beginning is covered by a passivating film (A). 

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