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Diffusion Processes as Possible Mechanisms for Cr Depletion at SCC Crack Tip

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Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems – Water Reactors

Part of the book series: The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series ((MMMS))

Abstract

Two mechanisms are studied to explain the asymmetrical chromium depletions observed ahead of SCC crack tips in nickel-base alloys: diffusion-induced grain boundary migration (DIGM) and plasticity-enhanced diffusion . On the one hand, DIGM is evidenced in a model Alloy 600 by focused ion beam (FIB) coupled with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) cross-section imaging and analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) after annealing at 500 °C under vacuum and at 340 °C after exposure to primary water. The occurrence of grain boundary migration depends on the grain boundary character and misorientation. On the other hand, the effect of plasticity on chromium diffusion in nickel single-crystals is investigated by performing diffusion tests during creep tests at 500 and 350 °C. An enhancement of Cr diffusion is observed and a linear relationship between the diffusion coefficient and strain rate is evidenced. At last, in an attempt to discriminate the two mechanisms, an analytical modeling of the Cr-depleted areas observed at propagating SCC crack tips is proposed.

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Acknowledgements

EDF is gratefully acknowledged for financial support. The authors want to thank SERMA Technologies (Grenoble, France) for FIB lamellae preparation for TEM observations. This work was carried out within the MATMECA consortium and supported by the ANR under contract number ANR-10-EQUIPEX-37. It has benefited from the facilities of the Laboratory MSSMat (UMR CNRS 8579), CentraleSupélec, France.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MINES ParisTech, PSL Research University, MAT-Centre des matériaux, CNRS UMR 7633, BP 87 91003, Evry, France

    Josiane Nguejio, Jérôme Crépin, Cécilie Duhamel & Fabrice Gaslain

  2. DEN-Service de la Corrosion et du Comportement des Matériaux dans leur Environnement (SCCME), CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    Josiane Nguejio, Catherine Guerre & Marc Maisonneuve

  3. Laboratoire GEMaC, UMR 8635, CNRS—Université de Versailles, 45 Avenue des Etats-Unis, 78035, Versailles Cedex, France

    François Jomard

Authors
  1. Josiane Nguejio
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  2. Jérôme Crépin
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  3. Cécilie Duhamel
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  4. Fabrice Gaslain
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  5. Catherine Guerre
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  6. François Jomard
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  7. Marc Maisonneuve
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cécilie Duhamel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID, USA

    John H. Jackson

  2. Naval Nuclear Laboratory, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Denise Paraventi

  3. Chalk River Laboratories, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Chalk River, ON, Canada

    Michael Wright

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© 2019 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society

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Nguejio, J. et al. (2019). Diffusion Processes as Possible Mechanisms for Cr Depletion at SCC Crack Tip. In: Jackson, J., Paraventi, D., Wright, M. (eds) Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems – Water Reactors. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04639-2_22

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