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ISO 7539-6:2011 covers procedures for designing, preparing and using precracked specimens for investigating susceptibility to stress corrosion. It gives recommendations for the design, preparation and use of precracked specimens for investigating susceptibility to stress corrosion.

The term "metal" as used in ISO 7539-6:2011 includes alloys.

Because of the need to confine plasticity at the crack tip, precracked specimens are not suitable for the evaluation of thin products, such as sheet or wire, and are generally used for thicker products including plate bar and forgings. They can also be used for parts joined by welding.

Precracked specimens can be loaded with equipment for application of a constant load or can incorporate a device to produce a constant displacement at the loading points. Tests conducted under increasing displacement or increasing load are dealt with in ISO 7539-9.

A particular advantage of precracked specimens is that they allow data to be acquired from which critical defect sizes, above which stress corrosion cracking can occur, can be estimated for components of known geometry subjected to known stresses. They also enable rates of stress corrosion crack propagation to be determined. The latter data can be taken into account when monitoring parts containing defects during service.