Abstract
Basic aspects of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in metallic materials are outlined, followed by a summary of the numerous mechanisms that have been proposed for SCC. The characteristics of transgranular and intergranular SCC in model systems, e.g., pure metal and single-phase alloy single crystals and bicrystals under testing conditions that facilitate discrimination between mechanisms, are then described. The applicability of the various proposed mechanisms, such as those based on dissolution, hydrogen embrittlement, film-induced cleavage, and adsorption, are discussed in detail for these systems. Mechanisms of SCC in complex commercial alloys are then considered in light of these studies on model systems.
About the author
Dr Stan Lynch is originally from Liverpool in England and completed his BSc and PhD degrees at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) before emigrating to Australia in 1970 where he has since worked at the Australian Defence Science & Technology Organisation in Melbourne. He is also an Adjunct Research Associate in the Department of Materials Engineering at Monash University. He has been an associate editor of several journals including Acta and Scripta Materialia, Corrosion Reviews, and the ASM Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention. Stan has over 40 years’ experience of research concerning environmentally assisted cracking, microstructure-property relationships (especially in Al alloys), and failure analysis, and has published over 100 papers on these topics. He has also presented numerous invited lectures on these subjects at international conferences and laboratories around the world.
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
