Slow Strain Rate Stress Corrosion Cracking Under Multiaxial Deformation Conditions: Technique and Application to Admiralty Brass

A set of straightforward experimental techniques are described for the examination of slow strain rate stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of sheet deforming under nearly all multiaxial deformation conditions which result in sheet thinning. Based on the local fracture strain as a failure criterion, the results contrast the stress corrosion susceptibility in uniaxial tension with those in both plane strain and balanced biaxial tension. As an application of the technique, preliminary results are presented describing the slow strain rate SCC of admiralty brass in an aqueous 0.1 M CuSO₄ solution at open circuit potential. These results indicate that the loss of ductility associated with the SCC of the brass increases as the stress state changes from uniaxial toward balanced biaxial tension.