| Abstract: | Stress corrosion cracking of high alloy manganese steels in aqueous chlorides In tensile tests made without applied current in aerated solutions a stabilization of the austenitic structure by increasing Mn and N contents yields increased times to failure. The potential-time-to-failure curves determined by potentiostatic tensile tests reveal a compley joint action of constitution and passivation behaviour of the steels. The intercrystalline stress corrosion cracking of the steel X 40 MnCr 19 with chromium carbide precipitations at the grain boundaries can be attributed to an electrochemical differentiation of the chromium-depleted grain boundary region. Steels of this type are characterized by a pronounced sensitivity to intercrystalline stress corrosion cracking the precipitation annealed state, and by a certain sensitivity to transcrystalline corrosion cracking after solution annealing. Low carbon Mn steels containing up to 4 % Cr are susceptible to transcrystalline stress corrosion cracking irrespective of the heat treatment. As to the temperature dependence of times-to-failure, constitution and layer formation have different effects. Increasing the Cr content to 8 % gives rise to a transition from stress corrosion cracking to pitting type corrosion. In terms of electron optics, an increased chromium content gives rise to a changed dislocation pattern, so that there may be an effect of the type of gliding processes on stress corrosion, The increased stress corrosion resistance of MnCr steels containing at least 8% Cr may be due to the lower height Of the gliding step and to an increasing tendency to repassivation of damaged surface layers. |
