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Characterization of intergranular stress-corrosion cracking initiation in type 304 stainless steel using scanning probe microscopy

Conference ·
OSTI ID:20002554
Intergranular stress-corrosion cracking (IGSCC) of austenitic stainless steels and nickel-base alloys continues to be a major problem in light water reactors. Although most research has been done on the mechanism of IGSCC, little is known about the process of crack nucleation in these alloys. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) was used to demonstrate that upon plastic deformation of annealed and sensitized Type 304 stainless steel specimens, slip intensifies at the grain boundaries, which results in grain boundary separation, particularly at grain boundary triple points. Initial work has been conducted with in-situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) in an aqueous 1,000 ppm sodium thiosulfate solution, to demonstrate that the observed grain boundary separations serve as stress-corrosion crack nucleation sites.
Research Organization:
CC Technologies Labs., Dublin, OH (US)
OSTI ID:
20002554
Report Number(s):
CONF-990401--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English