Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is a documented threat to the integrity of carbon steel radioactive waste storage tanks. An extensive amount of work has been carried out in caustic simulants of Hanford wastes containing between 6 and 12 M sodium hydroxide. Most of this historic work was performed at temperatures above 100°C, which is significantly warmer than current tank conditions. Current and future tank operations at Hanford need to consider the impact of caustic additions at temperatures below 75°C. A test program was designed to evaluate the SCC susceptibility risk in caustic simulants at temperatures below 75°C. Slow strain rate (SSR) tests and fast and slow scan anodic polarization scans were used to evaluate the susceptibility of the carbon steel to SCC in various 10 M sodium hydroxide caustic environments.

Subject
Scanning electron microscopy, Test methods, Nitrites, Photography, Fracture surfaces, Nitrates, Steel, Electric potential, Carbon steel, Caustic stress corrosion cracking, Anodic polarization, Wastes, Stress corrosion cracking
Keywords:
Stress corrosion cracking, caustic cracking, carbon steel, slow strain rate, nuclear waste, anodic polarization
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2021
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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