Envrionmental Cracking - Does it Affect You?

Author:  Donald O. Sprowls
Source:  The Shot Peener magazine, Vol 10/Issue 2, June 1996
Doc ID:  1996114
Year of Publication:  1996
Abstract:  
Is Enviromental Cracking a Problem? A highway bridge collapses and many people are killed, drawing attention to the dangerous conditions of all aging structures. A high pressure gas line explodes killing residents and causing extensive property damage. Cracks appear in main structural parts of first line defense fighter planes. Space shuttle launchings are delayed by the discovery of stress-corrosion cracks in critical components. Nuclear power plants are shut down, with tube failures and other sensitive parts in jeopardy due to enviromental attack. This list could be extended easily, to touch the life of nearly every american citizen. Enviromental cracking is a costly form of premature fracture of metal structures touching all corners of life in the United States and other industrially developed nations - and it is very costly in terms of public safety and property damage. There is hardly a metal known that does not have alloy systems susceptible to enviromantal cracking of some sort and this is the case for certain polymeric materials as well.