Austenitic Stainless Steels (ASS) are widespread in primary and auxiliary circuits of Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs). Moreover, some components suffer stress corrosion cracking (SCC) under neutron irradiation. This degradation could be the result of the increase of hardness and / or the modification of chemical composition at the grain boundary by irradiation. In order to avoid complex and costly corrosion facilities, the effects of radiation hardening on the material are commonly simulated by applying a pre-strain on non-irradiated material prior to stress corrosion cracking tests. The typical features of the cracking process in primary environment at 360°C during CERTs included an initiation stage (composed of a true initiation time and a slow propagation regime leading to a crack depth lower than 50 μm), then a “rapid” propagation stage before mechanical failure. Pre-straining increased significantly CGRs and the mode of pre-straining could strongly modify the crack path. No significant cracking (< 50 μm) was obtained under a pure static loading. A dynamic loading (CERT or cyclic) was required and various thresholds (hardness, elongation, stress) for the occurrence of SCC were determined. An important R&D program is in progress to develop initiation and propagation models for SCC of austenitic SS in primary environment.
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ASME/JSME 2004 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference
July 25–29, 2004
San Diego, California, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Pressure Vessels and Piping Division
ISBN:
0-7918-4685-7
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Stress Corrosion Cracking of Cold Worked Austenitic Stainless Steels in Laboratory Primary PWR Environment
Francois Vaillant,
Francois Vaillant
Electricite´ de France, Moret Sur Loing, France
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Thierry Couvant,
Thierry Couvant
Electricite´ de France, Moret Sur Loing, France
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Jean-Marie Boursier,
Jean-Marie Boursier
Electricite´ de France, Moret Sur Loing, France
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Claude Amzallag,
Claude Amzallag
Electricite´ de France, Villeurbanne, France
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Yves Rouillon,
Yves Rouillon
Electricite´ de France, Saint Denis Cedex, France
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Olivier Raquet
Olivier Raquet
CEA, Gif Sur Yvette, France
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Francois Vaillant
Electricite´ de France, Moret Sur Loing, France
Thierry Couvant
Electricite´ de France, Moret Sur Loing, France
Jean-Marie Boursier
Electricite´ de France, Moret Sur Loing, France
Claude Amzallag
Electricite´ de France, Villeurbanne, France
Yves Rouillon
Electricite´ de France, Saint Denis Cedex, France
Olivier Raquet
CEA, Gif Sur Yvette, France
Paper No:
PVP2004-3057, pp. 51-63; 13 pages
Published Online:
August 12, 2008
Citation
Vaillant, F, Couvant, T, Boursier, J, Amzallag, C, Rouillon, Y, & Raquet, O. "Stress Corrosion Cracking of Cold Worked Austenitic Stainless Steels in Laboratory Primary PWR Environment." Proceedings of the ASME/JSME 2004 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference. Storage Tank Integrity and Materials Evaluation. San Diego, California, USA. July 25–29, 2004. pp. 51-63. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/PVP2004-3057
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