The presence of stress corrosion and its associate corrosion fatigue are not new at our table. Unfortunately, this unwelcome guest is showing up more often and with frequently more grave consequences than in the past. It is increasingly important that we devote our efforts to the elimination or at least control of this menace. Of course, this means confrontation of the problem in all its aspects -- from the fundamental review of cause and effect to the final evaluation of applied hardware. In recent times, there have been some definitive studies made to show what can be done, within the limits of our current technology, to understand and control this kind of equipment limitation. In this paper, I will review some of the recent tests and their results along with some case histories that help to illustrate the effect of surface compressive stresses as a means of preventing stress corrosion cracking.

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