STRESS CORROSION CRACKING OF alpha -BRASS SINGLE AND BICRYSTALS.

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of alpha -brass single and bicrystals in an ammoniacal atmosphere was examined with regard to applied stress, the orientation of tensile axis and the misorientation of grain boundary. The time to fracture of single crystals decreased withincrease of applied stress. In the case of single crystals, the crackings occurred in general along (111) traces having a maximum Schmid factor, but the crackings were also observed along the traces of secondary slip planes and cross slips when the applied stress became higher. In bicrystals, fracture occurred generally in the grains when tilt and twist angles of grain boundaries were small, and at grain boundaries when these angles were large.