How Do You Prevent Stress Corrosion Cracking?
Stress corrosion cracking, which results from the combined effects of stress and corrosion, occurs as a result of combining three controlling influences–a susceptible metal, tensile stresses, and a corrosive environment. Minimizing one or several of these influences is the key to preventing stress corrosion cracking. Select a material for your product that is resistant to stress corrosion cracking. Reduce the effect of the damaging elements of the service environment by choosing metals that will stand up to the corrosive agents your product will be exposed to. Thoughtful metal selection makes the end product less vulnerable to this type of cracking. Stress-relief anneal the product by heating parts to a specific temperature (which varies by material) in an annealing oven and then cooling slowly; this process relieves the residual stress in the metal. This strategy is most practical for small parts and is most commonly used for carbon steel. Stress-relief annealing minimizes the stress
