Effects of ageing after cathodic charging in austenitic stainless steels

Ageing after cathodic charging resulted in a number of significant structural changes as the hydrogen diffused out of the specimen. The -phase is formed during hydrogen charging of the 316 steel. The weight fraction of the -martensite decreased with increasing ageing time. It is suggested that the transformation might be taking place during hydrogen release. Techniques for quantitative phase distribution in the stainless steel after various ageing times were used.