Hydrogen Embrittlement Understood

IM Robertson and P Sofronis and A Nagao and ML Martin and S Wang and DW Gross and KE Nygren, METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B-PROCESS METALLURGY AND MATERIALS PROCESSING SCIENCE, 46, 1085-1103 (2015).

DOI: 10.1007/s11663-015-0325-y

The connection between hydrogen-enhanced plasticity and the hydrogen- induced fracture mechanism and pathway is established through examination of the evolved microstructural state immediately beneath fracture surfaces including voids, "quasi-cleavage," and intergranular surfaces. This leads to a new understanding of hydrogen embrittlement in which hydrogen-enhanced plasticity processes accelerate the evolution of the microstructure, which establishes not only local high concentrations of hydrogen but also a local stress state. Together, these factors establish the fracture mechanism and pathway.

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