A crystal plasticity electrochemical cohesive zone fram 2026 Energy Enviro

Sustaining low-carbon nuclear electricity generation requires structural alloys that withstand prolonged exposure to aggressive operating environments. For cold-worked 316L stainless steel, localized stress corrosion cracking (SCC) challenges component integrity and service-life assessment. Here, a crystal plasticity – electrochemical – cohesive zone model is coupled to examine how deformation and high-temperature water chemistry jointly select intergranular initiation sites. The framework connects grain-scale stress and slip to reaction kinetics, ionic transport, and corrosion-assisted boundary failure. Reducing average grain size from 130 to 60 μm intensifies field heterogeneity and increases peak local current density from approximately 0.05 to 0.18 A/m2. Misorientation has a non-monotonic influence: elevated slip and anodically dominated responses occur over approximately 25 – 55°, while the strongest localization and most predicted failures concentrate within 40 – 55°. Initial failure occurs near 55°, followed by stress and slip redistribution. Variations in anodic exchange current density change response magnitudes but preserve the principal spatial pattern. These findings identify a deformation-mediated link between electrochemical activity and boundary failure, providing a mechanistic basis for degradation assessment and material-integrity management in long-lived nuclear energy infrastructure.