Effect of Temperature and Concentration of Ammonium Nitrate Solution on the Succeptibility of Mild Steel to Stress Corrosion Cracking

The effect of varying the temperature and the concentration of ammonium nitrate solution on the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility of mild steel is studied. An increase in the temperature causes a decrease in the stress corrosion life. It appears that the susceptibility in the range 368 K to 380 K was greater than at other temperatures. Near the boiling point corrosion and stress corrosion occurs, at the boiling point, the cracking was associated with a high rate of general corrosion. Microscopic examination after stress corrosion testing in 10Wt%, 20Wt%, and 52Wt% NH4NO3 solution revealed that in all cases there was severe intergranular attack, especially at the high concentration