Stress Corrosion Cracking Behavior of Cold Worked 316L Stainless Steel in Chloride Environment

Abstract

The outcomes of solution annealing and stress corrosion cracking in cold-worked 316L austenitic stainless steel have been studied using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and the slow strain rate test (SSRT) technique. The good compatibility with a high-temperature water environment allows 316L austenitic stainless steel to be widely adopted as an internal structural material in light water reactors. However, stress corrosion cracking (SCC) has recently been highlighted in the stainless steels used in commercial pressurized water reactor (PWR) plants. In this paper, SCC and inter granular cracking (IGC) are discussed on the basis of solution annealing in a chloride environment. It was found that the martensitic contents of cold-worked 316L stainless steel decreased as the solution annealing time was increased at a high temperature. Moreover, mode of SCC was closely related to use of a chloride environment. The results here provide evidence of the vital role of a chloride environment during the SCC of coldworked 316L.