Stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen-induced cracking of amorphous Fe74.5Ni10Si3.5B9C2

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in NaCl solution and hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC) during dynamic charging of Fe_74.5Ni₁₀Si_3.5B₉C₂ amorphous alloy were investigated through sustained load tests. The normalized threshold stress of SCC was σ_SCC/σ_F=0.04, where σ_F is fracture strength in air. Anodic polarization and addition of As₂O₃ into the solution did not change σ_SCC/σ_F, but cathodic polarization increased σ_SCC/σ_F from 0.04 to 0.31. Cathodic polarization increased but anodic polarization decreased the time to failure during SCC at the constant load of σ=0.27σ_F.The normalized threshold stress of HIC, σ_HIC/σ_F, was linearly decreased with the increase in logarithm of hydrogen concentration (C₀) and kept a minimum constant when C₀ was larger than a critical value, i.e., σ_HIC/σ_F=1.58−0.36lnC₀ (C₀?74.4 wppm) and 0.1 (C₀?74.4 wppm). The threshold stress of HIC during dynamic charging with the maximum current was larger than that of SCC at open-circuit potential. Fracture surfaces of HIC were also different with that of SCC. Experiments indicated that SCC of the amorphous alloy in the NaCl solution is controlled by anodic dissolution process instead of hydrogen.