Stress corrosion crack growth studies have been performed in high temperature, ultra high purity water on unsensitized stainless steels and alloy 600 as a function of martensite, yield strength, corrosion potential, temperature, and hydrogen fugacity. Parallel experiments were performed to evaluate the hydrogen permeation rate. SCC response paralleled the yield strength, corrosion potential, and temperature, and was substantially independent of the martensite content per se, the hydrogen fugacity, and the hydrogen permeation rate. The implications to fundamental crack advance processes in iron and nickel alloys are discussed.
Keywords: SCC, high temperature water, stainless steel, cold work, martensite, hydrogen permeation, corrosion potential, mechanisms.