Mercury is a naturally occurring component present in varying concentrations in natural gas fields all over the world. Liquid metal embrittlement (LME) involves penetration of a liquid metal into a solid metal that leads to brittle fracture. For this reason, a test program was established to evaluate the susceptibility of various metallic materials to LME by mercury. The susceptibilities of different alloys were determined using: 1) slow strain rate testing (SSRT) in mercury for screening and 2) fitness for service testing based on constant deflection testing (4-point bending) in a simulated service environment. Materials tested included nickel alloys UNS N06625 and UNS N04400, stainless steels UNS S31603 and UNS S32205, cobalt alloy UNS R30035, and aluminum alloys UNS 95083 and UNS 96061. Results from these tests indicate that UNS N04400 has significant LME susceptibility with an average time-to-failure ratio of 0.60 during slow strain rate screening tests. Constant strain fitness for service testing resulted in no significant LME cracking in UNS S32205, UNS N06625, UNS S31603, welded UNS N06625, and UNS N04400 tested at 100% of actual yield strength in a simulated Hg-containing service environment.

Subject
Environmental cracking, Test methods, Materials, Metal surfaces, Gauges, Nickel based alloys, Stress cracking, Liquids, Mercury, Metals, Stainless steel, Aluminum alloys, Liquid metal embrittlement
Keywords:
Liquid Metal Embrittlement, Mercury, corrosion resistant alloys
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2013
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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