Stress-corrosion cracking cautions

Stainless steels are unpredictable in sea water. In some circumstances, certain grades have stood up well but in other cases rapid attack has occurred. Stainless steels are prone to stress-corrosion cracking and susceptible to attack due to crevices and deposits. The consensus seem to be that stainless steels may be excellent in certain cases but must be used with caution. 

Screw anchors (Figure 4.4) transfer tension loads via the interlock of the screw threads with matching female threads cut into the concrete by the hardened forward threads. They are often used for light and medium-duty applications where speed and ease of installation are a factor. The high hardness required for cutting the threads into the concrete makes screw anchors susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement and stress corrosion, particularly under the head, and caution should be exercised where they are used in unprotected environments. Depending on the depth of the threads, screw anchors may have superior tension resistance relative to other expansion anchor types in cracked concrete conditions. 

Cathodic protection can also cause hydrogen stress cracking of high-strength alloys in service if "overprotective." T e use of cathodic protection (the coupling of hardenable stainless steels to lees noble metals in corrosive environments) should be done with caution. 

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