Effect of the strain rate on stress corrosion crack velocities in face-centred cubic alloys. A mechanistic interpretation

Constant extension rate tests on smooth samples, with strain rate (SR) values from 10⁻⁶ s⁻¹ up to 20 s⁻¹, were used to study stress corrosion cracking (SCC) systems in face-centred cubic alloys. It was found that by increasing the SR a monotonic increase of the (crack propagation rate) takes place. It was also observed that the slope α in vs. plots had different values for different SCC morphologies. Intergranular SCC is more steeply accelerated by SR, α_IG=0.5-0.7, than transgranular SCC, α_TG=0.2-0.3. The differences found between intergranular SCC and transgranular SCC were analysed under the light of the available SCC mechanisms.