<i>In Situ</i>Investigation of High Humidity Stress Corrosion Cracking of 7075 Aluminum Alloy by Three-Dimensional (3D) X-ray Synchrotron Tomography

Abstract

In situ X-ray synchrotron tomography was used to investigate the stress corrosion cracking behavior of under-aged Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy in moisture. The discontinuous surface cracks (crack jumps) mentioned in the literature are actually a single continuous and tortuous crack when observed in three dimension (3D). Contrary to 2D measurements made at the surface which suggest non-uniform crack growth rates, 3D measurements of the crack length led to a much more accurate measurement of crack growth rates.