On the shape of stress corrosion cracks in sensitized Type 304 SS in Boiling Water Reactor primary coolant piping at 288 °C

Evolution of the shape of surface cracks in sensitized Type 304 SS in Boiling Water Reactor primary coolant circuit piping at the reactor operating temperature of 288 °C is explored as a function of various environmental variables, such as electrochemical potential (ECP), solution conductivity, flow velocity, and multiplier for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) standard exchange current density (SECD), using the coupled environment fracture model (CEFM). For this work, the CEFM was upgraded by incorporating Shoji's model for calculating the crack tip strain rate and more advanced expressions were used for estimating the stress intensity factor for semi-elliptical surface cracks. This revised CEFM accurately predicts the dependence of the crack growth rate on stress intensity factor and offers an alternative explanation for the development of semi-elliptical cracks than that provided by fracture mechanics alone. The evolution of surface crack semi-elliptical shape depends strongly upon various environmental variables identified above, and the CEFM predicts that the minor axis of the ellipse should be oriented perpendicular to the surface, in agreement with observation. The development of the observed semi-elliptical cracks with the minor axis perpendicular to the surface is therefore attributed to the dependence of the crack growth rate on the electrochemical crack length.