ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 20 The discovery of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in modern alloys dates from the late 19th century[1]. See Table 1. This demonstrates two major trends: SCC occurs in many alloy systems and environments and knowledge about SCC has greatly increased since the 1960s. These developments STRESS CORROSION CRACKING: A BRIEF HISTORICAL SNAPSHOT OF AN AGE-OLD PROBLEM Recent archaeometallurgical studies show that stress corrosion cracking occurred in ancient metallic artifacts, a phenomenon that continues to plague modern metals and alloys. Russell Wanhill,* Emmeloord, the Netherlands Omid Oudbashi,* University of Gothenburg, Sweden *Member of ASM International SCC DIAGNOSTICS FOR METALLIC ARTIFACTS Possibly the first published report of SCC in an ancient artifact was by Floyd Brown, a renowned expert on modern-day SCC, referring to cracklike damage in a sheet silver head[15] (Fig. 1). have been accompanied by increases in mechanistic studies and theories, with some agreements but no overall consensus[12]. It is also noteworthy that although SCC accounts for just 7% of all engineering failures, its prevention is a major problem, particularly in the aerospace industry[10,11,13,14]. TABLE 1 — MAJOR ALLOY–ENVIRONMENT COMBINATIONS EXHIBITING SCC Alloy systems Time periods Aggressive environments Copper alloys 1870s–present[1-3] Mainly NH3; many others after 1960s Noble metal alloys 1886[4]; 1940s–1960s[5,6] Various acidic solutions Carbon steels 1870s–present Caustics and nitrates; many others after 1960s Stainless steels 1930s–present Aqueous solutions[7,8] Magnesium alloys Nickel-base alloys 1960s–present Steam, demineralized water[1,9] High-strength steels Aqueous solutions, notably salt water; exotic environments for spacecraft; components in launch vehicles[10,11] Aluminum alloys Titanium alloys
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