The issue of hardness testing and nickel base alloys has been a contentious topic in the oil and gas community. In this paper we present the uses of hardness testing with respect to nickel base alloys with examples of limitations and applications. As hardness has historically been seen as a factor for predicting environmental cracking resistance of nickel base alloys, a literature assessment of slow strain rate data is presented examining the potential for a relationship between the hardness and the alloy’s resistance to environmental cracking. More recent studies tried to access the mechanisms behind the environmental cracking issue and their results are reviewed.

The paper concludes that there is no reliable relationship between hardness and environmental cracking resistance on nickel base alloys and proposes some actions as a result.

Subject
Rockwell hardness, Environmental cracking, Materials, Correlation, Microstructure, Nickel based alloys, Hardness testing, Sodium chloride, Hardness measurements, Cracking resistance, Elongation, Nickel, Hardness
Keywords:
hardness, nickel base alloys, UNS(1) N07718, HISC, environmental cracking, SSRT
© 2023 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
2023
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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