Report of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Piping Review Committee. Volume 1. Investigation and evaluation of stress corrosion cracking in piping of boiling water reactor plants

IGSCC in BWR piping is occurring owing to a combination of material, environment, and stress factors, each of which can affect both the initiation of a stress-corrosion crack and the rate of its subsequent propagation. In evaluating long-term solutions to the problem, one needs to consider the effects of each of the proposed remedial actions. Mitigating actions to control IGSCC in BWR piping must be designed to alleviate one or more of the three synergistic factors: sensitized material, the convention BWR environment, and high tensile stresses. Because mitigating actions addressing each of these factors may not be fully effective under all anticipated operating conditions, mitigating actions should address two and preferably all three of the causative factors; e.g., material plus some control of water chemistry, or stress reversal plus controlled water chemistry