Fabricated stainless steel structures are susceptible to stress corrosion
cracking (SCC), despite being placed in chloride-containing natural water or
humid atmospheres. The present paper describes a model that can define the
conditions under which SCC is initiated and propagated, based on analyses of
actual SCC incidents induced at welded flanges of cylindrical stainless steel
structures.
Whenever the vitrified radioactive waste canister storage conditions deviate from
normal and appropriate conditions due to earthquakes or tsunamis, the exposed
canisters are expected to suffer SCC within 400 hours to 7 years, according to
the analytical results obtained such as degree of sensitization, residual stress
distribution, chloride ion concentration, and temperature.