Role of residual stresses induced by industrial fabrication on stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of austenitic stainless steel

Effect of residual stress generated during tube fabrication, roll expansion and machining of stainless steel on the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility was studied by testing fabricated tubes, tube–tube sheet joint and heavily machined plate of austenitic stainless steel (SS) in boiling MgCl₂. U bend samples of machined plate were exposed to acidified SO₄ + Cl^? environment at room temperature to study its ambient temperature SCC behavior. The results correlate the SCC behavior of the SS tubes and roll expanded joints to the nature and magnitude of residual stresses present. The study also highlights the distinct difference in ambient temperature SCC behavior of machined vs. nonmachined surfaces.     

Failure Investigation of Stainless Steel Adaptor

Adaptors used in check valve inlet pressure sensors were fabricated from austenitic stainless steel. Recently, during pretest operation and during hydrogen pressurization of an engine, a leak was noticed through the adaptor. Subsequent to disassembly, the leak was attributed to a crack in the adaptor. Detailed metallurgical investigations were carried out to understand the cause of cracking. Synergistic effect of chloride ions present in marine environment, the presence of residual stresses and sensitized grains of the material led to intergranular stress corrosion cracking. This article highlights details of investigation.     

Cracking of Aluminum Alloy Rivets Used in Space Application: A Metallurgical Investigation

Adaptors used in check valve inlet pressure sensors were fabricated from austenitic stainless steel. Recently, during pretest operation and during hydrogen pressurization of an engine, a leak was noticed through the adaptor. Subsequent to disassembly, the leak was attributed to a crack in the adaptor. Detailed metallurgical investigations were carried out to understand the cause of cracking. Synergistic effect of chloride ions present in marine environment, the presence of residual stresses and sensitized grains of the material led to intergranular stress corrosion cracking. This article highlights details of investigation.     

奥氏体不锈钢在石油精炼环境中应力腐蚀破裂

通过恒变形和恒载荷试验研究了敏化18—8型奥氏体不锈钢在连多硫酸介质中的应力腐蚀行为。研究表明,介质浓度在2.0～6.0％,PH 值在0.8～1.8范围是材料出现应力腐蚀破裂的敏感介质。断口分析表明,在该体系中破裂属晶间型。钢中晶界贫铬区的存在是产生晶间型应力腐蚀破裂的主要原因。     

Stress-Corrosion Cracking and Galvanic Corrosion of Internal Bolts from a Multistage Water Injection Pump

Nineteen out of 26 bolts (studs) used for assembly of multistage water pump showed severe corrosion and cracking after brief service in a severe working environment that contained saline water, CO₂, and H₂S. The failed bolts and intact nuts were supposed to be made out of a special type of austenitic stainless steel as per ASTM A 193 B8S and ASTM A 194, respectively. However, the investigation showed that bolts and nuts are made from two different alloys: an austenitic stainless steel and a nickel-base alloy. The difference in the corrosion resistance of these two alloys led to severe galvanic corrosion. The galvanic coupling between bolts and nuts in addition to the severe working environment played major role in the premature failure of bolts. The mechanisms of bolt failure were galvanic corrosion for bolts that were in direct contact with the environment and stress-corrosion cracking in the bolts remote from the severe environment. The stress-corrosion cracking was influenced by a bad fit between the bolts and nuts threads. This resulted in a crevice and the development of an aggressive chemistry between the engaged bolt/nut threads. All factors required to cause stress-corrosion cracking were available, namely, stressed bolts (bolts under tensile stress), temperatures above 60 °C, and chloride ions.     

外压型不锈钢波纹管膨胀节开裂分析

奥氏体不锈钢外压轴向型波纹管膨胀节在使用较短时间后发生了开裂。采用化学成分分析、金相检验和断口分析等方法对开裂的原因进行了分析。结果表明:波纹管膨胀节的工作介质过热蒸汽中含有腐蚀性氯离子,在服役环境下受到拉伸应力的作用,导致其发生了应力腐蚀开裂。     

Eddy current data for characterizing less volumetric stress corrosion cracking in nonmagnetic materials

The authors gather eddy current signals due to artificial stress corrosion cracking so that the data may be available to other researchers. Three cracks are introduced into an austenitic stainless steel plate, eddy current measurements are performed, and then the plate is destroyed to observe the cross-sectional profiles of the cracks. The authors will offer the data, as well as the true profile of the stress corrosion cracking revealed by destructive tests, to anybody who are interested in utilizing it in their studies.     

某酸奶厂配料罐304不锈钢夹套底部材料的失效分析

某酸奶厂二次配料罐304不锈钢夹套底部出现开裂现象,影响了工厂的正常运行。通过观察裂纹宏观形貌、裂纹金相特征、断口形貌以及断口腐蚀产物能谱分析及应力腐蚀敏感性试验等分析了开裂原因。结果表明:配料罐夹套开裂是由奥氏体不锈钢的应力腐蚀造成的;根据事故发生的原因,提出了返修和消除缺陷的方法。     

Degradation of stainless steel grids in chemically aggressive environment

The present study concerns the failure analysis of a perforated austenitic stainless steel grid, operating in a shell-and-tube heat exchanger of a petrochemical industry. Macroscopic examination of the grid indicated extensive friability and severe cracking in a direction perpendicular to its normal loading, while both grid surfaces as well as the interior of the filtration holes were covered significantly by decayed deposits. Microscopic examination of selected grid areas, after the surface deposits removal, indicated severe cracking exhibiting multiple branching, which advocates for stress corrosion cracking. Besides the extensive cracking areas, voids surrounded by twinning and slip bands were observed. Elemental microanalysis carried out in the areas around voids indicated the presence of iron and chromium at proportions that can be correlated to the formation of σ-phase. The detection of oxygen, iron and chromium within the cracks is attributed to corrosion products consisting of a mixture of iron and chromium oxides. The premature catastrophic failure of the stainless grid occurred as a synergistic effect of these distinct root-causes. Potential substitution of the currently used stainless steel with another alloy of higher resistance in stress corrosion cracking and microstructure stability at high temperatures is suggested.     

Effects of orientation,stress and exposure time on short intergranular stress corrosion crack behaviour in sensitised type 304 austenitic stainless steel

Intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) in austenitic stainless steels occurs at susceptible grain boundaries after sensitisation. In this study, the effects of test duration, static stress (applied and residual) and microstructure orientation on the developed populations of short crack nuclei are reported for a sensitised type 304 austenitic stainless steel in an acidified potassium tetrathionate (K₂S₄O₆) solution. The crack populations were analysed using the Gumbel distribution method, showing an increase in the characteristic crack lengths with increasing time and grain size. There is a weak, but measurable effect of stress on crack length. Tensile stress increases crack growth and compressive residual stresses introduced by surface machining are shown to be beneficial. A significant dependence on sample orientation is observed and this cannot be explained in terms of the bulk microstructure properties or characteristics, which showed no significant variations.     

Stress corrosion cracking of stainless steel bellows of satellite launch vehicle propellant tank assembly

Bellows made of austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304 grade) are being used as a conduit for liquid fuel and oxidizer in the propellant tank of a satellite launch vehicle. A few bellows were found leaky during re-pressure tests after 6 years of storage. A number of cracks were found originating from weld fusion lines. One of the leaking bellows was subjected to detailed metallurgical and chemical analysis. The synergistic effect of chloride ions and thermal stresses from welding was identified as the cause-a typical example of stress corrosion cracking (SCC).     

The effect of TiN inclusions and deformation-induced martensite on the corrosion properties of AISI 321 stainless steel

Stainless steel of type 321 is commonly used for the production of exhaust systems because of its temperature resistance and welding properties, which are better than those of AISI 304 or similar steels. AISI 321 is a titanium stabilized austenitic stainless steel, where this element is added to form carbides in order to avoid chromium impoverishment due to chromium carbide formation. Cold shaping can, in the case of austenitic stainless steel, cause the formation of deformation induced martensite, which can improve its mechanical properties, but unfortunately can also spoil its good resistance to corrosion. Titanium nitride inclusions are cathodic with respect to steels, and therefore cause their anodic dissolution. Martensite is, however, more susceptible to the corrosion than austenite in steels. The main aim of this study was to analyze the pitting corrosion and stress corrosion cracking which is initiated on prototype cold-formed outer exhaust sleeves during the testing of different cleaning procedures before chromium plating. Various microscopic methods were used to identify the initiation of corrosion and its propagation.     

Failure analysis of stress corrosion cracking in heat exchanger tubes during start-up operation

The cracking failure of a new heat exchanger during first start-up operation has been analyzed. Through the investigation of the operating history of the equipment, analysis of the chemical compositions of tube material and corrosion products, metallographic test of specimens with cracks, the cracking mode can be described as the Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) of austenitic stainless steel. This kind of cracking was induced by the chloride in high temperature steam and tensile stress. The residual tensile stress due to seal expansion has been proved by numerical calculation. The pre-heating steam which was polluted by the catalyst with chloride is the main reason for the tube cracking in this case.     

Mitigation of chloride driven stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of 316L austenitic stainless steel using plasma sprayed TiO2 coating

The present study proposes a protective TiO₂ coating against chloride driven stress corrosion cracking problem of 316L austenitic stainless steel. To test the performance of the proposed coating, the severe chloride-based boiling magnesium chloride solution at 155 °C was chosen. For experimentation, the constant strain-based U-bend specimens were coated with TiO₂ using atmospheric plasma spray method. The results indicated higher resistance by TiO₂ coated specimens against stress corrosion cracking problem, while the bare specimens experienced severe damage in the boiling magnesium chloride solution under various strain loading configurations. The coating-electrolyte system of TiO₂ coated sample demonstrated over seven times higher resistance, eventually led to reduction in corrosion rate over fifteen times compared to the bare 316L stainless steel in the boiling magnesium chloride solution. This improved performance of the coated 316L stainless steel is attributed to inhibition of outward diffusion of iron-chromium-nickel in the corrosive environment and the high chemical stability of TiO₂.     

反复焊接对超低碳奥氏体不锈钢耐腐蚀性能的影响

通过对反复焊接1～5次的超低碳奥氏体不锈钢的晶间腐蚀试验及应力腐蚀试验，研究了反复焊接对超低碳奥氏体不锈钢的耐腐蚀性能的影响。试验结果显示，在同一部位反复焊接5次后，超低碳奥氏体不锈钢的晶间腐蚀倾向和应力腐蚀敏感性没有发生明显变化，表明超低碳奥氏体不锈钢在选择合适的焊接材料、焊接工艺和焊接方法的前提下，同一部位可反复焊接5次，而其耐腐蚀性能不会受到影响。     

A new constitution diagram for predicting ferrite content of stainless steel weld metals

Duplex stainless steels combine the best properties of austenitic and ferritic stainless steels. They possess high yield strengths (=450 N/mm²) and have excellent resistance to stress corrosion cracking in severe corrosive environments. The secret of this optimum combination of properties is the balanced austenite-ferrite microstructure of the alloys and the weld metals used to join them. The High Alloys Committee of the US-based Welding Research Council has recently issued a new constitution diagram to assist the prediction of the ferrite content of duplex stainless steel weld metals from the alloy's chemical composition.     

Investigation into the cracking of inner cover of batch annealing furnace at bokaro steel plant

A detailed metallurgical investigation was undertaken to ascertain the cause of the premature cracking of inner covers used in the batch annealing furnaces of Bokaro Steel Plant of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). It was found that the cracking was a result of the profuse precipitation of chromium carbide. Precipitation of chromium carbide sensitizes the steel to corrosion attack because of denudation of chromium from the matrix. Use of a properly stabilized austenitic stainless steel was recommended for prolonged life of the inner covers.     

Failure of a premix feeder line on a land-based gas turbine

A premix feeder line on a land-based gas turbine was found to be leaking, and the source of the leakage was traced back to a crack in a pipe-to-fitting weld. The weld joined a coupling made from the X6CrNiMoTi17-12-2 austenitic stainless steel to a type 316L austenitic stainless steel reducer. A root-cause assessment was conducted to determine the cause of the crack. Evidence of fatigue and corrosive attack was found. Various factors that influence the susceptibility to corrosion and cracking, such as heat tints, geometry of the weld, and surface finish of the component, are discussed. Recommendations are made for corrective actions and failure prevention.     

316L不锈钢表面纳米化后腐蚀性能研究

对表面纳米化和未经表面纳米化处理的316L不锈钢的样品分别进行点蚀实验和应力腐蚀对比实验,在3.5%(质量分数)NaCl水溶液中分别测出它们的极化曲线.结果表明,316L不锈钢表面纳米化后抗点蚀性能下降,抗应力腐蚀性能提高.对应力腐蚀断口的SEM 分析发现,316L不锈钢应力腐蚀断口有明显分区现象,断裂形式为韧性断裂,开裂通道既有穿晶型也有沿晶型.     

含Cu抗菌不锈钢的工艺与耐蚀性能

与普通0Cr17铁素体不锈钢和0Cr18Ni9奥氏体不锈钢相比，含铜铁素体和奥氏体抗菌不锈钢均具有良好的冷热加工性能和焊接性能．通过提高浇铸温度，抗菌不锈钢能保持良好的铸造性能．奥氏体抗菌不锈钢的抗应力腐蚀性能比0Cr18Ni9不锈钢有很大的提高，而铁素体抗菌不锈钢比0Cr17有明显的下降．与相应的普通不锈钢相比，两种类型抗菌不锈钢的耐点蚀性能均略有下降．