Stress corrosion cracking of A517 steel in marine environments

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop the existence and mechanism of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) for A517 steel in marine environments. Design/methodology/approach Slow strain rate test (SSRT) and constant load tests were used to investigate the SCC susceptibility of A517 steel. In addition, the additive stresses caused by the corrosion film and hydrogen entering into steel were applied to reveal the fundamental mechanism of the SCC. Findings The SCC susceptibility increased due to anodic dissolution and additive stress caused by the corrosion-produced film under anode polarization. Furthermore, the SCC susceptibility increased with increasing cathodic polarization, which is due to the increased additional stress caused by hydrogen entering into the steel. However, when the cathode polarization further increased, the additional stress remained due to the constant hydrogen content, thus the SCC susceptibility did not vary. Moreover, the SCC susceptibility of A517 steel under an alternate immersion environment (AIE) was lower than that under a full immersion environment and the steel under the AIE with 0.5 W/D had the lowest SCC susceptibility. Originality/value The stress corrosion behaviors of A517 in marine environments under various conditions were systematically analyzed.