Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 February 2017
Fabricated stainless steel structures are susceptible to stress corrosion cracking (SCC), despite being placed in chloride-containing natural water or humid atmospheres. The present paper describes a model that can define the conditions under which SCC is initiated and propagated, based on analyses of actual SCC incidents induced at welded flanges of cylindrical stainless steel structures.
Whenever the vitrified radioactive waste canister storage conditions deviate from normal and appropriate conditions due to earthquakes or tsunamis, the exposed canisters are expected to suffer SCC within 400 hours to 7 years, according to the analytical results obtained such as degree of sensitization, residual stress distribution, chloride ion concentration, and temperature.