The Effect of Loading Rate on the Environment-Assisted Cracking Behavior of AA7075-T651 in Aqueous NaCl Solution

The influence of loading rate on the environment-assisted cracking (EAC) behavior of AA7075-T651 immersed in 0.6 and 1.0 M NaCl solution was assessed at applied potentials ranging from -800 to -1200 mVSCE via a slow-rising stress intensity (K) testing methodology. Measured crack growth rates under rising K loading are compared to those obtained using a fixed K protocol, which revealed that rising K-based testing consistently yields increased crack growth rates relative to static K approaches across all tested conditions. However, relative to other alloy systems, EAC in AA7075-T651 is only modestly loading rate-dependent, as demonstrated by testing conducted at fixed dK/dt ranging from 0.25 to 2.0 MPa root m/h. The implications of the observed results are considered in the context of current EAC testing specifications, with specific focus on the conservatism and efficiency of rising K-based approaches.