Stress corrosion cracking of prestressed steels in bicarbonate solutions

Abstract

This paper presents the valuation of a new method of controlled cracking used to study the susceptibility of the high strength steels resistance to stress corrosion cracking. The innovation of this method resides in raising the study of the growth of the fissure combining electrochemical and mechanical parameters. The study combines the Mechanics of Fracture and the theory of the Superficial Mobility, it allows to calculate the crack propagation rate and the fracture toughness in the same test, where the crack is not done by fatigue.