Quantification of fatigue crack propagation of an austenitic stainless steel in mercury embrittlement

Abstract Liquid metals are expected to be used as nuclear materials, such as coolant for nuclear reactors and spallation targets for neutron sources, because of their good thermal conductivity and neutron production. However, in specific combinations, liquid metals have the potential to degrade structural integrity of solid metals because of Liquid Metal Embrittlement (LME). In this study, the effect of mercury immersion on fatigue crack propagation rate in SUS316 was investigated through fatigue tests with a notched specimen under mercury immersion. FRActure Surface Topography Analysis (FRASTA) with the measurement of the notch opening distance was performed to estimate the fatigue crack growth rate in mercury. The results showed that the fatigue crack growth rate was slightly higher in mercury than that in the air in the low cycle fatigue region. This suggests that the crack propagation is accelerated by mercury immersion in high stress imposition regions.