# Stress Corrosion Cracking Analysis of a Hot Blast Stove Shell with an Internal Combustion Chamber
## 1 Introduction
However, both approaches require a substantial amount of experimental data to be accurate and reliable [8; 9]. While these models offer convenience and reasonable accuracy, they can be expensive and time-consuming, often necessitating extensive testing for various service environments [9]. Conversely, deterministic models focus on exploring the SCC mechanism to establish theoretical connections between the crack growth rate and parameters affecting the crack propagation rates [10; 11; 12; 13]. A number of scholars have put forward various theoretical mechanisms and crack growth rate models to scientifically depict the SCC phenomenon [14; 15; 16; 17; 18]. [PERSON] [19] introduced the surface mobility mechanism (SMM) of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) to forecast the influence of temperature on SCC. [PERSON] [20] suggested that the SMM may be a valuable technique for predicting the susceptibility of metals and alloys to SCC in industrial operating conditions. The SMM has been successful in elucidating certain SCC scenarios where harmful films develop on the metal surface [21]. The most significant advantage of SMM is its ability to predict the corrosion penetration rate at any temperature. In their study, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [22] discovered that only a limited number of mechanisms could be subjected to experimental testing, with SMM being one of them. The most noteworthy contribution of SMM has been to emphasise the importance of adhering to the first principles of the SCC mechanism and considering factors like temperature, composition of the environment, and stress. In evaluating the SCC, it is crucial to analyse the amount of acidic condensations and how much stress is applied to the structure. There are several parameters that affect the SCC, and some examples of the parameters are as follows: stress, type of acid, concentration of the acid condensate, and temperature. However, analysing the SCC of hot blast stoves is not simple since the fluid-structure interaction analysis is complex and computationally expensive, especially for enormous structures. In addition, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA) models are complicated. Due to these circumstances, an evaluation of the SCC with both CFD and FEA was barely conducted. Table 1 shows the literature that analysed the SCC with numerical analyses. In this study, the surface mobility mechanism was adopted to predict the crack propagation rate (CPR) of the SCC on the hot blast stove. The water, nitric, and sulfuric acid condensation rates were predicted theoretically based on a CFD model of the hot blast stove. The thermo-mechanical stresses of the metallic shell were calculated utilising FEA. The effect of the concentration of acidic condensates was considered through the weight value concept, composed of the condensation rates of water, nitric, and sulfuric acids. The vulnerable points of the HBS were analysed from the point of view of the stress corrosion cracking. The influence of the blast temperature, one of the major operation parameters of the HBS, on the CPR was analysed with an increase in the blast temperature by 45 K and 90 K. The SCC calculation method combined with the CFD and FEA models presented in this paper can provide a fresh approach to evaluating the safety of hot blast stoves and similar applications such as heat exchangers, pressure vessels, and boilers.