Modeling and prediction of irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking

Following an introduction to the phenomenology and consequences of irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC), the many common aspects of SCC response in unirradiated and irradiated environments is reviewed. From a secure basis of understanding and predictive modeling under unirradiated conditions, the effects of individual irradiation phenomena are identified and modeled. The individual effects of radiation on segregation, creep/stress relaxation, hardening, and radiolytic water chemistry are modeled based on the best available data, some from proprietary sources. Critical issues are addressed, such as the possibility that radiation produces very high corrosion potentials in crevices/cracks under irradiated conditions. A wide variety of irradiated laboratory data and field observations provides a basis for comparison with prediction and an optimism that, despite an imperfect understanding of irradiation phenomena, it is possible to develop predictive algorithms that characterize IASCC with reasonable accuracy and, from that, to develop an effective approach for life prediction