Abstract
To study the capability of titanium to be used as a material for component parts inside Pressurized Water Reactors, some Stress Corrosion Cracking tests were realized on commercially pure titanium. The implementation of an appropriate cathodic charging allowed forming a controlled hydride layer at the subsurface of tested samples. This one acts as a hydrogen source during the aging tests in autoclave, hydrogen being a product of irradiation inside PWR and leading to possible embrittlement of titanium. It was showed that the presence of a pre-formed hydride layer influences the appearance of hydrides inside the material at the end of the aging tests. The stress state seems to act on the orientation and size of hydrides, not on their formation.