Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 3.53
Stress corrosion cracking of type 304 stainless steel autoclave due to
chloride contamination.
steel [7]. The failure in service took place in a matter of hours and was traced
to the buildup of chloride concentration on the outside surface because of evapo-
ration of the water used for cooling, which originally contained only a negligible
amount of chloride. Yet another interesting example of SCC is depicted in Fig.
3.54, where the development of longitudinal cracks in a cold-drawn brass tube
had its origin at the bird droppings that provided the ammonia necessary for
corrosion [9]. The occurrence of SCC has been reported in high-strength alumi-
num alloy components in low-flying British military aircrafts arising from chlo-
ride-contaminated moisture, which led to the ban on the use of the material until
a solution was found through cladding of the material with pure aluminum. Car-
bonate-bicarbonate environments have been identified as the probable cause of
cracking in natural gas transmission steel pipelines [48].
Figure 3.54
Stress corrosion cracking of cold-drawn 70-30 brass tube originating at
bird droppings.
