Straining Metal Electrode Technique as a SCC Test—Type 304 Stainless Steel in NaCl + H₂SO₄ Solutions Available to Purchase

The straining metal electrode technique was applied to the study of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility of Type 304 austenitic stainless steel in H₂SO₄ solutions and in H₂SO₄ + NaCl solutions, at room temperature. A film formation process was detected in the active zone of Type 304 in H₂SO₄ + NaCl solutions. It was concluded that a film rupture mechanism operates during SCC of this metal in H₂SO₄ + NaCl solutions. The crack propagation rate values and the crack morphologies predicted by straining experiments were found to be in very good correlation with those found by conventional SCC tests.