QUANTIFYING CRACK TIP OXIDATION KINETICS PARAMETERS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO STRESS CORROSION CRACKING IN HIGH TEMPERATURE WATER

Stress corrosion cracking is the result of the interaction between crack tip oxidation kinetics and crack tip mechanics. Oxidation kinetic processes for austenitic alloys in high temperate water environments are analyzed, emphasizing the effects of alloy composition and microstructure, temperature, water chemistry, etc. The crack chemistry is investigated with introducing the effect of aging on reactivity of crack sides and the throwing power of bulk water chemistry. Oxidation rate constants under various conditions are calculated based on quasi-solid state oxidation mechanism, which are incorporated in the theoretical growth rate equation to quantify the effects of several key parameters on stress corrosion cracking growth rates of austenitic alloys in high temperature water environments, especially the effect of environmental parameters on stress corrosion cracking of Ni-base alloys in simulated PWR environments and stainless steels in simulated boiling water environments.