Studying Stress Corrosion Cracking Mechanisms Using Novel Nanoscale Characterization

Abstract.Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is a concern for structural materials across many industries. SCC requires the synergistic contribution of a susceptible material, corrosive environment, and stress. There have been many proposals for viable mechanisms to describe SCC; however, due to the complexity of the phenomenon, universal mechanisms are not possible, and identifying and applying a particular SCC mechanism in a known susceptible material-environment system has been challenging. This is due to the need for understanding the interplay of a multitude of variables contributing to SCC from the material science, mechanics, and chemistry/corrosion perspectives. In the past decade, advanced electron microscopy and surface science methods have advanced significantly to allow for multi-disciplinary nanoscale characterization and site-specific extraction of regions of interest (e.g., crack tips). These novel characterization techniques have been applied successfully to better elucidate SCC mechanisms of materials in certain aggressive environments.