Etch pitting and stress-corrosion cracking of copper

Journal Article · Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Acta Metallurgica; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0956-7151(92)90003-W· OSTI ID:7237927

Sieradzki, K ^[1]; Kim, J S ^[2]

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1. Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
2. Korea Advanced Energy Research Inst., Nuclear Fuel Material Research Dept., P.O. Box 7, Daedukdanji, Chungnam (KR)

This paper presents evidence that an elemental metal can undergo stress-corrosion cracking by an anodic dissolution process under nominally film-free or active dissolution conditions. Oriented cooper single crystal samples tested at high strain rates in non-tarnishing cupric ammonia solutions undergo severe stress-corrosion cracking. The occurrence of stress-corrosion cracking in these samples is correlated with the development of uniform microscopic porosity which develops owing to the spectacular effect that dynamic straining has on the etch pitting process. The porous surface morphology and the cracking obtains when there is a certain balance between the rate of corrosive attach which is manifested as etch pitting and the strain rate. At too low a strain rate the relatively high lateral velocity of etch pit walls prevents distinguishable etch pits of sub-micron size from forming. At too high a stain rate failure occurs by normal ductile processes. Based upon a simple model, we develop general quantitative arguments by consideration of the statistics of etch pit nucleation which demonstrate how the width of the distribution describing nucleation times could be a sensitive function of strain rate.

• OSTI ID: 7237927
• Journal Information: Acta Metallurgica; (United States), Vol. 40:4; ISSN 0001-6160
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
COPPER OXIDES
PITTING CORROSION
STRESS CORROSION
AMMONIA
ANODES
CORROSION INHIBITORS
CRACK PROPAGATION
DISSOLUTION
ETCHING
FRACTURE MECHANICS
MONOCRYSTALS
NUCLEATION
PHASE STUDIES
POROSITY
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COPPER COMPOUNDS
CORROSION
CRYSTALS
ELECTRODES
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MECHANICS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SURFACE FINISHING
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
360205* - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Corrosion & Erosion
360203 - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Mechanical Properties
360202 - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Structure & Phase Studies