Fracture Mechanics-Based Study of Stress Corrosion Cracking of SS304 Dry Storage Canister for Spent Nuclear Fuel

摘要

Many independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSI) are located along the coastal regions in the US and the dry storage canisters consisting of spent nuclear fuels are envisioned to undergo chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in heat-affected zone. In the present study, we have investigated SCC behavior of sensitized SS304H under substitute ocean water at room temperature using wedge opening loading (WOL) specimens. The alloy was sensitized at 600 °C for 215 h followed by microstructural characterization. The crack growth during the test was monitored using direct current potential drop technique. The crack growth rate for the SS304H alloy was within the same order of magnitude as reported in literature for SS304 alloy under chloride environment.