In 1974 the bypass lines of five boiling water reactors developed leaks that were caused by intergranular stress corrosion cracking. Cracking occurred in the weld heat-affected zones of AISI Type 304 stainless steel Schedule 80 seamless piping, 10.16 cm (4 in.) in diameter. The bypass lines in all five reactors were fabricated from pipe Heat 2P1486. An extensive investigation was performed on archive material to determine the reason for the high susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking. Chemical analyses, mechanical property evaluation, sensitization tests, and stress corrosion cracking tests of laboratory samples and full-scale pipes were performed. Analyses of the test results failed to distinguish any differences between Heat 2P1486 from other heats of 304 stainless that would elucidate the propensity to stress corrosion cracking.

Subject
Pipe surfaces, Corrosion failures, Water, Materials, Piping, Intergranular stress corrosion cracking, Yield stress, Boiling water reactors, Stress, Heat, Sensitization, Stainless steel, Heat affected zone
© 1988 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1988
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
You do not currently have access to this content.