Secondary side stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of steam generator (SG) tubes maybe due to the formation of an acid environment in crevices, as demonstrated for several Belgian plants. The susceptibility of alloys 600 and 800 in this type of environment, which had been partially evidenced by several laboratory works, has been confirmed by capsule tests performed at Laborelec, whereas the SCC resistance of alloy 690 always appeared excellent]. Capsule tests have been recently conducted at 320°C with the same heats of tubings in the same acid solutions (cationic resins+ magnetite+ sodium silicate, with or without lead, and sodium sulfate+ iron sulfate, with or without lead oxide) containing CuO and Cu2O.It appeared that the SCC resistance of the three alloys was generally reduced by the addition of copper oxides, at least when the cover gas did not contain hydrogen. The situation was particularly dramatic for the capsules made of alloy 690 tubing : most of them developed deep cracks, sometimes throughwall (the shortest time to failure being less than 50 h) whereas the same solutions without copper
oxides had produced no cracking at all in alloy 690 capsules exposed during more than 2000 h. Although the corrosion is reduced in presence of hydrazirie or at lower concentration, copper oxides probably contribute significantly to the degradation of the tubes in alloy 600, at least in SG’S forming acid sulfate crevice environments. This is also an issue for the new SG’S, especially for those equipped with tubes in alloy 690 TT, particularly for the top of the tubesheet which is a critical deposit area since the high stresses and strains resulting from the expansion of the tube in the tubesheet lead to a risk of circumferential cracking at the transition.
Keywords: steam generator, tubes, Alloy 600, Alloy 800, Alloy 690, SCC, acid, sulfate, lead, copper, organics