Alloys with lower stacking fault energy are more susceptible to cracking in comparison with those having higher stacking fault energy.
Cracking can propagate both intergranularly and transgranularly and localized plastic deformation alongside grain boundaries has been shown to play an important role in
intergranular stress corrosion cracking (Ref 9).
In extreme cases pitting can lead to perforation of tubing wall leaking highly flammable gases under pressure depending upon the particular application.
Also, perforated water pipes can become unserviceable although less than 5% of the total
metal is lost through rusting (Ref 7).
In this study, an underground pipeline made of 304 stainless steel tubing and handling utility water in a petrochemical plant near seawater at ambient temperature was perforated after few months of operation.
Corrosion was observed to exclusively occur at the external bottom surface of the pipe with some perforation limited to regions adjacent to weld seams. A section of perforated pipe was examined to determine the cause of failure.