Analysis of Stress Corrosion Cracking Propagation of SS304 Stainless Steel Using Crack Shape and Etch Pits

Austenitic stainless steel SS304 is vulnerable to Cl atmosphere SCC (stress corrosion crack). In this study, SCC phenomena related to stress and corrosion composition were analyzed to identify the mechanism for SCC initiation and propagation in SS304. The microstructure and mechanical properties resulting from crack propagation were analyzed by OM, SEM/EDS and micro Vickers hardness tests. The abnormal phase transformation induced by the SCC was analyzed by TEM and diffraction. As a result of these analyses, the shape of SCC was observed to form a branched type crack, which was related to etch pit patterns on the etched surface due to the austenitic fcc (face centered cubic) lattice slip. In addition, the high concentration accumulation of Cl and S components at the SCC site, observed by SEM/EDS, indicated that the SCC was affected by the corrosive atmosphere. The SCC crack propagation was accompanied by hardening, which is believed to be associated with the mechanism of hydrogen embrittlement. High resolution TEM analysis found abnormal satellite diffraction points in the SCC high hardness region. This means that a superlattice phase with high hardness values is formed near the SCC region. And the HIC (hydrogen induced crack) effect, a kind of hydrogen embrittlement, was also influenced by the hardened superlattice phase. It is assumed that the SCC and HIC are similar phenomena produced in the same stress and corrosive atmosphere by superlattice phase transformation.