Interaction between blue brittleness and stress corrosion cracking

Abstract Steels of composition 30Cr 2 Ni 4 MoV and 25Cr 2 MoV used in a nuclear power plant showed blue brittleness near 230°C and 180°C, respectively. Susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) for the steels in aqueous solutions at the test temperatures was very low except at the blue brittleness temperature. At the blue brittleness temperature, there was a strong interaction between blue brittleness and SCC, resulting in a steep increase in the susceptibility to SCC.