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