Font Size: 

Stress corrosion cracking occurs due to the synergistic interactionbetween mechanical load and corrosion reactions. Some types of stress corrosion crackbranch heavily. Here, branching during dissolution driven crack growth is studiedusing an adaptive FE method. A strain-assisted evolution law is used for the inherentlyblunted crack. No criterion for crack growth is needed as for a sharp crack, neither forthe growth direction. Several simulations are performed with different degrees of loadbiaxiality. It is found that large biaxiality promotes branching, but no conditions forwhen branching takes place is found. Instead, branching seems to occur ratherrandomly due to the perturbation sensitivity of a dissolution driven crack. Also crackgrowth rates for branched cracks are investigated, and it is found that both constantgrowth rates can be reached, as well as decreasing rates and eventual arrest. Thecracks follow a mode I crack path, however local changes may occur due to theperturbation sensitivity.