Effects of NaCl, pH, and Potential on the Static Creep Behavior of AA1100

The creep rates of AA1100 are measured during exposure to a variety of aggressive environments. NaCl solutions of various concentrations have no influence on the steady-state creep behavior, producing creep rates comparable to those measured in lab air at room temperature. However, after an initial incubation period of steady strain rate, a dramatic increase of strain rate is observed on exposure to HCl solutions and NaOH solutions, as well as during cathodic polarization of specimens in NaCl solutions. Creep strain produces a continuous deformation and elongation of the sample surface that is comparable to slow strain rates at crack tips thought to control the kinetics of crack growth during stress corrosion cracking (SCC). In this experiment, we separate the strain and surface deformation from the complex geometry of the crack tip to better understand the processes at work. Based on this concept, two possible explanations for the environmental influences on creep strain rates are discussed relating to the anodic dissolution of the free surface and hydrogen influences on deformation mechanisms. Consistencies of pH dependence between corrosion creep and SCC at low pH prove a creep-involved SCC mechanism, while the discrepancies between corrosion creep behavior and previous SCC results at high pH indicate a rate-limit step change in the crack propagation of the SCC process.