Effect of cold work on the stress corrosion cracking behavior of Alloy 690 in supercritical water environment

The stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of Alloy 690 with 0, 20% and 30% cold work (CW) was studied in supercritical water (SCW) environment with an emphasis on CW and creep on the CGRs (CGR). SCC and creep CGRs increased with %CW, which correlated hardness very well. Microscopic characterization of the crack tip and fracture surface showed obvious cavity-like features, which is clear evidence of creep attack. The creep CGRs in inert gas were comparable to the SCC CGRs in SCW, indicating that creep is a major factor in crack growth. Increasing level of CW was found to increase the creep susceptibility, and high activation energies for creep crack growth were observed between 500 °C and 550 °C.