Stress Corrosion Cracking of Structural Nuclear Materials: Influencing Factors and Materials Selection

Abstract

Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) plays a central role in the development of improved structural nuclear materials. Complex interactions between microstructure, alloy composition, manufacturing and environmental factors make the understanding of this phenomenon difficult. This work aimed at reviewing the scientific literature on the SCC behavior of structural nuclear materials in order to identify the main factors that govern this phenomenon. Additionally, the interaction between these factors and materials selection is discussed in order to provide a comprehensive basis for the successful design of metallic materials with improved resistance to SCC.