Stress Corrosion Cracking

Initiation and propagation of cracks in a material subjected to tensile stress in the presence of a specific corrosive environment, producing subcritical crack growth and often sudden brittle failure at stresses below the material's yield strength.

A cracking process in susceptible materials that results from the combined action of tensile stress (applied or residual) and a specific corrosive environment, producing cracks that can initiate and propagate at stress levels below the material’s nominal tensile strength and often with brittle‑appearing fracture surfaces.