One inch diam Type 304 stainless steel piping was designed to carry containment atmosphere samples to an analyzer to monitor hydrogen and oxygen levels during operational and the design basis accident conditions that are postulated to occur in a boiling water reactor. Only one of six lines in the system had thru-wall cracks. Shallow incipient cracks were detected at the lowest elevations of one other line. The balance of the system had no signs of SCC attack. Chlorides and corrosion deposits in varying amounts were found throughout the system. The failure mechanism was transgranular, chloride, stress-corrosion cracking. Replacement decisions were based on the presence of SCC attack or heavy corrosion deposits indicative of extended exposure time to chloride-contaminated water. The existing uncracked pipe, about 75 percent of the piping in the system, was retained despite the presence of low level surface chlorides. Controls were implemented to insure that temperatures are kept below 150 deg F, or, walls of the pipe are moisture-free or the cumulative wetted period will never exceed 30 h.

A section of clear polymeric tubing failed while in service. The failed sample had been used in a chemical transport application. The tubing had also been exposed to periods of elevated temperature as part of the operation. The tubing was specified to be a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin plasticized with trioctyl trimellitate. Investigation included visual inspection, micro-FTIR in the ATR mode, and thermogravimetric analysis. The spectrum on the failed tubing exhibited absorption bands indicative of a PVC resin containing an adipate-based plasticizer. Thermograms of the failed pieces and a reference sample of tubing that performed well showed that the reference material contained a trimellitate-based plasticizer and that the failed material contained an adipate-based material. The conclusion was that the failed tubing had been produced from a formulation that did not comply with the specified material and, as a result, was not as thermally stable as the reference material.

AISI type 321 stainless steel heat exchanger tubes failed after only three months of service. Macroscopic examination revealed that the leaks were the result of localized pitting attack originating at the water side surfaces of the tubes. Metallographic sections were prepared from both sets of tubes. Microscopic examination revealed that the pits had a small mouth with a large subsurface cavity which is typical of chloride pitting of austenitic stainless steel. However, no pitting was found in other areas of the system, where the chloride content of the process water was higher. This was attributed to the fact that they were downstream from a deaeration unit. It was concluded that the pitting was caused by a synergistic effect of chlorine and oxygen in the make-up water. Because it was not possible to install a deaeration unit upstream of the heat exchangers, it was recommended that a molybdenum-bearing stainless steel such as 316L or 317L be used instead of 321.

A process vessel heating coil, consisting of several 3 ft diam turns, was supplied with steam at 400 psi and a temperature of 343 deg C (650 deg F). At bi-weekly intervals well water was introduced to effect rapid cooling of the contents. After about eight months, leakage developed from a circumferential crack on the underside of the uppermost turn. Shorter cracks were found at a similar location on the bottom turn, and further leakage occurred at pinhole perforations adjacent to the crack in the top turn and near to a butt-weld in the coil. Microscopic examination revealed that the cracks were predominantly of the intergranular variety. In addition, transgranular cracks were present. Material was an austenitic stainless steel of the type specified but the absence of columbium and titanium in significant amounts showed that it was not stabilized against intergranular carbide precipitation. The transgranular cracks indicated that failure was due partly to stress-corrosion. It was concluded that the chlorides provided the main corrodent for both the stress and intercrystalline-corrosion cracking.

One-quarter inch diameter 304 stainless steel cooling tower hanger rods failed by chloride-induced stress-corrosion cracking (SCC). The rods were located in an area of the cooling tower where the air contains drop lets of water below the mist eliminators and above the flow of water The most extensive cracking was observed in the rod nuts and in the portions of the rod which were covered by the nuts. Cracking was transgranular with extensive branching, and some corrosion occurred along the crack paths. The clamping force from the nuts used on both sides of the supported member and residual stresses from thread rolling likely contributed to the stresses for the cracking mechanism, along with the stresses induced by the supported load. The external surfaces of the hanger rods were reportedly exposed to a chloride-containing atmosphere, likely due to the biocide. Type 304 stainless steel is not a suitable material for this application, and materials that resist SCC, such as Inconel, should be considered.

A nuclear steam-generator vessel constructed of 100-mm thick SA302, grade B, steel was found to have a small leak. The leak originated in the circumferential closure weld joining the transition cone to the upper shell. The welds had been fabricated from the outside by the submerged arc process with a backing strip. The backing was back gouged off, and the weld was completed from the inside with E8018-C3 electrodes by the shielded metal arc process. Striations of the type normally associated with progressive or fatigue-type failures including beach marks that allowed tracing the origin of the fracture to the pits on the inner surface of the vessel were revealed. Copper deposits with zinc were revealed by EDS examination of discolorations. Pitting was revealed to have been caused by poor oxygen control in the steam generators and release of chloride into the steam generators. It was concluded by series of controlled crack-propagation-rate stress-corrosion tests that A302, grade B, steel was susceptible to transgranular stress-corrosion attack in constant extension rate testing with as low as 1 ppm chloride present. It was recommended to maintain the coolant environment low in oxygen and chloride. Copper ions in solution should be eliminated or minimized.

AISI type 410 stainless steel tube bundles in a heat exchanger experienced leakage during hydrostatic testing even before being in service. The inside surfaces of the tubes was observed to have been pitted. Chloride-ion pitting was revealed by the undercutting in the cross section of a pit and further confirmed by x-ray spectrometry. It was concluded that the failure was caused by pitting due to chlorides in the water used to flush the tubes before service. The use of brackish water to flush or test stainless steel equipment was recommended to avoid pitting.