ASTM Committee G01 on Corrosion of Metals is organizing events on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) to be held Tues., Nov. 6, during their biannual meetings in Dallas, Texas, Nov. 7-9.

A morning workshop, “Design Criteria for Controlling Stress Corrosion Cracking,” will be followed by an afternoon discussion of SCC issues between attendees and a panel of experts. There is no admission charge, but pre-registration is requested of those wishing to make a presentation or address the panel.

Part of a series developed by Subcommittee G01.06 on Environmentally Assisted Cracking, the workshop will focus on SCC problems in the petroleum, pipeline, refining, and chemical industries. Subcommittee chairman Russell D. Kane, Ph.D., InterCorr International, Inc., Houston, Texas, said workshop topics will include:

• Problems associated with cracking of steels in hydrogen sulfide environments;
• Cracking in stainless alloys in hot chloride-containing media;
• Hydrogen cracking of high strength bolting materials; and
• External SCC of pipeline steels.

In the afternoon session, the audience can pose problems to the panel and discuss potential solutions.

The cost of corrosion in the petroleum, pipeline and chemical industries has been estimated to be approaching $30 billion annually in the United States alone, Kane said, citing information from Corrosionsource. com. Stress corrosion and related cracking phenomena are significant factors in these costs. SCC is a major factor in unexpected, catastrophic failures in pressurized equipment, resulting in increased operational risk, potential high dollar loses, and loss of life. As interest in high strength materials expands, the risk of cracking generally increases and better specifications are needed to minimize problems from SCC, Kane said.

ASTM Subcommittee G01.06 on Environmentally Assisted Cracking will address needed standardization in this area. Activities under way involve stress corrosion cracking, hydrogen embrittlement, high temperature hydrogen damage and procedures for evaluating stainless steels, and aluminum and copper alloys.

All are encouraged to attend these events, as well as G01 subcommittee or task group meetings on Nov. 7.

To register, contact Russell D. Kane, Ph.D., InterCorr International, Inc., Houston, Texas (phone: 281/444-2282, ext. 32). To learn more about Committee G01, contact staff manager Bruce Noe, ASTM (phone: 610/832-9719). //

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