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Non-Arrhenius Stress Corrosion Crack Growth Behavior Of 304 Stainless Steel In Deaerated Water

The Naval Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) has performed evaluations of SCC in 304/304L stainless steel since 2005 with the goal of developing an empirical equation. Testing has focused on the effects of temperature, stress intensity factor, material cold work, orientation, and sulfur content on SCC in hydrogenated water. Non-Arrhenius growth, termed herein as high temperature retardation (HTR), was observed in several studies where the SCC growth rate was found to slow at elevated temperature at low cold work levels in 316 and 304/304L stainless steel.

Product Number: ED22-17245-SG
Author: Tyler Moss, Justin Hesterberg, Dave Morton, Denise Paraventi
Publication Date: 2022
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The objective of this work is to characterize the severity and key dependencies of the stress corrosion crack growth rate (SCCGR) in cold worked 304 stainless steel focusing on conditions where non-Arrhenius growth is observed. Testing was performed on five heats of 304 and 304/304L stainless steel in hydrogenated water at temperatures ranging from 204°C to 367°C, stress intensities from 14-82 MPa√m and cold work levels from 5-20%. Over 40 individual tests were performed on 97 samples, generating 402 additional measurements. Crack growth rates were monitored with in-situ direct current electric potential drop (EPD) and corrected by destructive exam. Results show that non-Arrhenius growth is typically observed above 310°C, where the growth rates plateau and then decrease at higher temperatures. The level of cold work and applied stress intensity can shift this peak to lower temperatures where a lack of temperature dependence has been observed in temperatures as low as 250°C in some cases. An empirical model has been developed to capture the non-Arrhenius dependence in SCCGR.

The objective of this work is to characterize the severity and key dependencies of the stress corrosion crack growth rate (SCCGR) in cold worked 304 stainless steel focusing on conditions where non-Arrhenius growth is observed. Testing was performed on five heats of 304 and 304/304L stainless steel in hydrogenated water at temperatures ranging from 204°C to 367°C, stress intensities from 14-82 MPa√m and cold work levels from 5-20%. Over 40 individual tests were performed on 97 samples, generating 402 additional measurements. Crack growth rates were monitored with in-situ direct current electric potential drop (EPD) and corrected by destructive exam. Results show that non-Arrhenius growth is typically observed above 310°C, where the growth rates plateau and then decrease at higher temperatures. The level of cold work and applied stress intensity can shift this peak to lower temperatures where a lack of temperature dependence has been observed in temperatures as low as 250°C in some cases. An empirical model has been developed to capture the non-Arrhenius dependence in SCCGR.