ABSTRACT
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is one of the most damaging corrosion problems in a variety of industries including the nuclear industry. Unpredicted failures in service may cause safety, economic, environmental and health consequences. In many cases, SCC has a relatively long initiation stage followed by an early stage of short crack growth and coalescence; finally, large cracks appear and rapid crack propagation may lead to a catastrophic failure [1]. Lifetimes of structural components subject to SCC exhibit a large degree of scatter under the same conditions since initiation of SCC is dominated by localised surface condition and localised stress, solution and material conditions, thus presents stochastic characteristics. Development of in-situ monitoring methods, which can detect SCC in its initiation stage and the early stage of short crack growth, can make a considerable contribution to safety management of critical components in plants. Developing experimental methodologies that enable real time monitoring of SCC initiation and early stage propagation is also highly desirable from a mechanistic research point of view.
