Austenitic stainless steels Cr-Ni (Types 304, 304L, 321, and similar) and Cr-Ni-Mo (Types 316, 316L, 316 Ti, and similar) are susceptible to atmospherically-induced stress corrosion cracking (AISCC) at ambient temperatures if hygroscopic salts such as MgCl2 or CaCl2 are present on the surface and the air relative humidity (RH) is in a critical range. This phenomenon has been responsible for incidents of rock climbing anchors breaking under minimal load in seaside areas, putting climbers lives at stake. A systematic failure analysis of anchors collected from various seaside locations throughout the world, namely from Portugal, Azores, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Africa, and Australia, has been performed. Transgranular AISCC was proven the reason for failures in the majority of investigated anchors made of Type 304L stainless steel. Intergranular cracking due to sensitization by improper welding or heat treatment was also identified as a critical safety issue for both Types 304 and 316 stainless steel types. Comparison of literature data and climatic data from the failure locations suggests that limited washing of deposits in confined zones together with elevated temperature and low RH generated locally by direct sunshine are the key factors of AISCC initiation and ultimately of anchor failure.
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1 October 2019
Research Article|
August 17 2019
Atmospheric Stress Corrosion Cracking of Stainless Steel Rock Climbing Anchors, Part 1
Jiří Lieberzeit;
Jiří Lieberzeit
*University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technopark Kralupy, Department of Metallic Construction Materials, Žižkova 7, 278 01 Kralupy nad Vltavou, Czech Republic.
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Tomáš Prošek;
Tomáš Prošek
‡
*University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technopark Kralupy, Department of Metallic Construction Materials, Žižkova 7, 278 01 Kralupy nad Vltavou, Czech Republic.
‡Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].
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Alan Jarvis;
Alan Jarvis
**International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA), Monbijoustrasse 61, Postfach CH-3000 Bern 23, Switzerland.
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Lionel Kiener
Lionel Kiener
**International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA), Monbijoustrasse 61, Postfach CH-3000 Bern 23, Switzerland.
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‡Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].
Received:
March 27 2019
Revision Received:
August 17 2019
Accepted:
August 17 2019
Online ISSN: 1938-159X
Print ISSN: 0010-9312
© 2019, NACE International
2019
CORROSION (2019) 75 (10): 1255–1271.
Article history
Received:
March 27 2019
Revision Received:
August 17 2019
Accepted:
August 17 2019
Citation
Jiří Lieberzeit, Tomáš Prošek, Alan Jarvis, Lionel Kiener; Atmospheric Stress Corrosion Cracking of Stainless Steel Rock Climbing Anchors, Part 1. CORROSION 1 October 2019; 75 (10): 1255–1271. https://doi.org/10.5006/3227
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