Stress Corrosion via Localized Anodic Dissolution in Cu-Au Alloys Available to Purchase

There has been a continuing controversy as to the role of anodic dissolution during stress corrosion cracking. Although a large body of data would suggest that anodic dissolution is involved in an important way, there is no strong evidence that it actually occurs at the crack tip. Cross-section metallographic examination of cracked specimens has been of little value in this regard, even for Cu-Au alloys for which the sites of anodic dissolution may be readily recognized by the formation of porous alloy as has been shown by Graf¹  and others.^2–4  That porous alloy along and ahead of cracks in Cu-Au alloys has not hitherto been seen might suggest that anodic dissolution is not involved in crack propagation. It seems more likely, however, that the amount of anodic dissolution which occurs at the crack tip is usually so small that the porous structure which forms is not resolved at...