Effect of vanadium on the hot stress corrosion cracking of type 304 stainless steel

The effect of the vanadium content in flue gases on crack propagation in type 304 stainless steel at 550°C was studied. Kerosene was used as the base fuel and the vanadium content was varied from 0 to 40 ppm. Increasing the vanadium content up to around 20 ppm increased the crack propagation rate, reduced the rupture life and decreased the threshold stress intensity factor. For vanadium contents above 20 ppm, the trend is slightly reversed, thereby showing that there is a critical vanadium content in the flue gases that produces the worst attack at a given temperature. © 1984.