Stress corrosion cracking: characteristics, mechanisms and experimental study

The cracking of a metal alloy will sometimes result from the combined action of a corrodent and tensile stress, and this phenomenon is called stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Stresses that cause cracking can be residual or may be applied during service. A degree of mechanistic understanding of SCC will enable most metallic engineering materials to operate safely, though stress corrosion cracking failures still continue to occur unexpectedly in industry. In this paper, the characteristics, mechanisms and methods of SCC prevention are reviewed. The results of experimental studies on alpha brass are also reported of which the failure mode conformed with the film rupture and anodic dissolution mechanism.