On the Stress Corrosion Cracking and Hydrogen Embrittlement Behavior of Austenitic Stainless Steels in Boiling Saturated Magnesium Chloride Solutions

The stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and hydrogen embrittlement (HE) behaviors for types 304, 310, and 316 austenitic stainless steels were investigated in boiling saturated magnesium chloride solutions using a constant load method under different conditions including test temperature, applied stress, and sensitization. Both of type 304 and type 316 stainless steels showed quite similar behavior characteristics, whereas type 310 stainless steel showed a different behavior. The time to failure () parameter was used among other parameters to characterize the materials behavior in the test solution and to develop a mathematical model for predicting the time to failure in the chloride solution. The combination of corrosion curve parameters and fracture surface micrographs gave some explanation for the cracking modes as well as an indication for the cracking mechanisms. On the basis of the results obtained, it was estimated that intergranular cracking was resulted from hydrogen embrittlement due to strain-induced formation of martensite along the grain boundaries, while transgranular cracking took place by propagating cracks nucleated at slip steps by dissolution.