A Review on Stress Relaxation Cracking in Austenitic Stainless Steel

Abstract

Stress relaxation cracking (SRC) is a high-temperature failure mode occurring in equipment, operational in industries at high service temperature for a long time. SRC has been noticed in thick-walled welded components of austenitic stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel, heat-resistant steel, and nickel-based alloys for many years. Understanding SRC phenomenon is necessary to improve the lifetime of equipments and to save resources. In order to improve the lifetime of the equipments, understanding SRC mechanism and its characteristics is important. In this paper, past experience of SRC in austenitic stainless steel has been reviewed to understand why and how SRC occurs and what are the major causes for cracking. Preventive measures can be taken that could avoid stress relaxation cracking and extend the lifetime of the equipment’s working at high temperature.