The dependence of fatigue crack growth on hydrogen in warm-rolled 316 austenitic stainless steel

The fatigue crack growth rate of warm-rolled AISI 316 austenitic stainless steel was investigated by controlling rolling strain and temperature in argon and hydrogen gas atmospheres. The fatigue crack growth rates of warm-rolled 316 specimens tested in hydrogen decreased with increasing rolling temperature, especially 400 °C. By controlling the deformation temperature and strain, the influences of microstructure (including dislocation structure, deformation twins and α′ martensite) and its evolution on hydrogen-induced degradation of mechanical properties were separately discussed. Deformation twins deceased and dislocations became more uniform with the increase in rolling temperature, inhibiting the formation of dynamic α′ martensite during the crack propagation. In the cold-rolled 316 specimens, deformation twins accelerated hydrogen-induced crack growth due to the α′ martensitic transformation at the crack tip. In the warm-rolled specimens, the formation of α′ martensite around the crack tip was completely inhibited, which greatly reduced the fatigue crack growth rate in hydrogen atmosphere.     

Hydrogen induced blister cracking and mechanical failure in X65 pipeline steels

The present work aims to investigate the role of hydrogen induced blisters cracking on degradation of tensile and fatigue properties of X65 pipeline steel. Both tensile and fatigue specimens were electrochemically charged with hydrogen at 20 mA/cm² for a period of 4 h. Hydrogen charging resulted in hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) and blister formation throughout the specimen surface. Nearly all the blisters formed during hydrogen charging showed blister wall cracking (BWC). Inclusions mixed in Al-Si-O were found to be the potential sites for HIC and BWC. Slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) test followed by fractographic analysis confirmed significant hydrogen embrittlement (HE) susceptibility of X65 steel. Short fatigue crack growth framework, on the other hand, specifically highlighted the role of BWC on accelerated crack growth in the investigated material. Coalescence of propagating short fatigue crack with BWC resulted in rapid increase in the crack length and reduced the number of cycles for crack propagation to the equivalent crack length.     

Notched-tensile properties under high-pressure gaseous hydrogen: Comparison of pipeline steel X70 and austenitic stainless type 304L, 316L steels

The effect of high-pressure gaseous H₂ on the fracture behavior of pipeline steel X70 and austenitic stainless steel type 304L and 316L was investigated by means of notched-tensile tests at 10 MPa H₂ gas and various test speed. The notch tensile strength of pipeline X70 steel and austenitic stainless steels were degraded by gaseous H₂, and the deterioration was accompanied by noticeable changes in fracture morphology. The loss of notch tensile strength of type 316L and X70 steels was comparable, but type 304L was more susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement than the others. In the X70 steel, hydrogen embrittlement increased as test speed decreased until the test speed reached 1.2 × 10^?3 mm/s, but the effect of test speed was not significant in 304L and 316L steels.     

Influence of macro segregation on hydrogen environment embrittlement of SUS 316L stainless steel

The objective of this work is to identify microstructural variables that lead to the large scatter of the relative resistance of 316 grade stainless steels to hydrogen environment embrittlement. In slow displacement rate tensile testing, two almost identical (by nominal chemical composition) heats of SUS 316L austenitic stainless steel showed significantly different susceptibilities to HEE cracking. Upon straining, drawn bar showed a string-like duplex microstructure consisting of α′-martensite and γ-austenite, whereas rolled plate exhibited a highly regular layered α′-γ structure caused by measured gradients in local Ni content (9.5–13 wt%). Both martensite and austenite are intrinsically susceptible to HEE. However, due to Ni macro segregation and microstructural heterogeneity, fast H-diffusion in martensite layers supported a 10 times faster H-enhanced crack growth rate and thus reduced tensile reduction in area. Nickel segregation is thus a primary cause of the high degree of variability in H₂ cracking resistance for different product forms of 316 stainless steel.     

Effective hydrogen diffusion coefficient for CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy and microstructural behaviors after hydrogen permeation

Herein, the first observation of the effective hydrogen diffusion coefficient of CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) was performed using electrochemical hydrogen permeation; further, it was compared with those of stainless steels (SS) 304 and 316L. HEA and SS 316L showed similar effective hydrogen diffusion coefficient of 1.75 × 10⁻¹¹ m²/s and 1.91 × 10⁻¹¹ m²/s, respectively. SS 304 showed the smallest that of 0.58 × 10⁻¹¹ m²/s in the study. Hydrogen diffusion through the grain boundary was dominant in face-centered cubic metals. Hydrogen permeation resulted in no change in the microstructure of HEA and SS 316L; however, it caused a martensitic transformation in SS 304.     

Gaseous hydrogen embrittlement of a Ni-free austenitic stainless steel containing 1 mass% nitrogen: Effects of nitrogen-enhanced dislocation planarity

We investigated the effect of hydrogen on degradation of tensile properties in a Fe–25Cr–1N austenitic stainless steel. Hydrogen was introduced by exposure to a hydrogen gas atmosphere at 100 MPa and 270 °C. Hydrogen charging caused significant ductility loss associated with nitrogen-enhanced dislocation planarity. Specifically, even without hydrogen, the nitrogen-enhanced planar dislocation glide induced micro-stress concentration, which assisted the occurrence of hydrogen-induced intergranular and quasi-cleavage fractures. The hydrogen-assisted intergranular cracking occurred along boundaries of grains where primary slip was predominantly activated. On the other hand, the hydrogen-assisted quasi-cleavage fracture took place when multiple slip systems were activated. The hydrogen-related cracks emerged, but their growth was arrested via crack blunting associated with a significant plastic deformation. Instead, new cracks formed near the crack tips. Therefore, hydrogen-assisted crack propagation occurred through repetition of crack blunting, initiation, and coalescence.     

Performance of surface chromizing layer on 316L stainless steel for proton exchange membrane fuel cell bipolar plates

Stainless steels as proton exchange membrane fuel cell bipolar plates have received extensive attention in recent years. The pack chromizing layer was fabricated on 316L stainless steel to improve the corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity. The corrosion properties were investigated in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ + 2 ppm HF solution at 70 °C purged with hydrogen gas and air. Higher electrochemical impedance and more stable passive film were obtained by chromizing the 316L stainless steel. Potentiodynamic polarization results showed the corrosion current densities were reduced to 0.264  μA cm⁻² and 0.222  μA cm⁻² in two simulated operating environments. In addition, the interfacial contact resistance was decreased to 1.4 mΩ⋅cm² under the compaction force of 140 N⋅cm⁻² and maintained at low values after potentiostatic polarization for 4 h. The excellent corrosion and conductive performances could be attributed to the chromium carbides and high alloying element content in chromizing layer.     

Effects of Nb on stress corrosion cracking of high-strength low-alloy steel in simulated seawater

In this study, simulated heat-affected zone (HAZ) of Nb-free and Nb-bearing steel were obtained, and SEM, TEM, and slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests were performed to investigate the effect of Nb on the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of high-strength low-alloy (HLSA) steel in simulated seawater with or without hydrogen charging. The addition of Nb significantly refined the grains and uniformed the microstructure of HLSA. Nb hardly affected the SCC susceptibility of BM and HAZ without hydrogen-charging. However, after charging with 10 mA cm⁻², the SCC resistance of Nb-bearing steel, especially the coarse grain HAZ (CGHAZ) improved drastically, and the process of crack initiation and propagation was inhibited owing to the hydrogen trap function of NbC precipitates.     

Transport of hydrogen and deuterium in 316LN stainless steel over a wide temperature range for nuclear hydrogen and nuclear fusion applications

The permeation of hydrogen and deuterium through 316LN stainless steel (316LN SS) was investigated over a wide temperature range of 300–850 °C for nuclear hydrogen and nuclear fusion applications. We presented the first complete datasets of permeability Φ, diffusivity D, and solubility S for both hydrogen (H) and deuterium (D) in 316LN SS. Φ_H and Φ_D were 3.47 × 10⁻⁷exp(−66.6 × 10³/RT) and 2.71 × 10⁻⁷exp(−67.5 × 10³/RT) mol·m⁻¹ s⁻¹ Pa^−0.5, respectively. D_H and D_D were 15.9 × 10⁻⁷exp(−56.5 × 10³/RT) and 13.8 × 10⁻⁷exp(−56.8 × 10³/RT) m²∙s⁻¹, respectively. The estimated isotope effect ratios of Φ_H/Φ_D, D_H/D_D, and S_H/S_D were ~1.4, ~1.2, and ~1.2, respectively. The previously reported results for 316LN SS were extrapolated to the temperature range used herein and were compared with the results of this study. Although some discrepancies were observed between the results of this study and previous studies, they were within the acceptable scattering range.     

Fabrication,characterization, and application of palladium composite membrane on porous stainless steel substrate with NaY zeolite as an intermediate layer for hydrogen purification

Palladium composite membrane with excellent stability was successfully prepared using the electroless plating (ELP) route on a porous stainless steel (PSS) support for hydrogen separation. In order to modify the average pore size of PSS support and to prevent inter-metallic diffusion, the NaY zeolite layer was coated on the PSS support with the seeding and secondary growth method. A high-temperature membrane module was designed by Solid work software and fabricated from 316 L stainless steel with a knife-edge seal. The microstructures and morphologies of the samples were analyzed using XRD, BET, AFM, FESEM and EDX techniques. Permeation experiments were carried out with binary mixtures of H₂/N₂ with various ratios (90/10, 75/25 and 50/50) and pure H₂ and N₂ at different temperatures (350, 400 and 450 °C) and feed pressures (200–400 kPa). Hydrogen permeation tests showed that the membrane with a thickness of about 7 μm had a hydrogen permeance of 6.2 × 10⁻⁴ mol m⁻² s⁻¹ Pa^−0.5 with an ideal H₂/N₂ selectivity of 736, at 450 °C. In addition, the results of stability tests revealed that the membrane could remain stable during a long-term operation by varying temperature and feed gases.     

Analyses of hydrogen distribution around fatigue crack on type 304 stainless steel using secondary ion mass spectrometry

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) analyses were carried out on type 304 austenitic stainless steel. On annealed specimen exposed to hydrogen (10 MPa, 358  K), Element Depth Profiles SIMS mode was able to describe quantitatively the hydrogen profile content computed by the Fick’s law. Based on SIMS analyses on the wake of a fatigue crack (propagation in hydrogen gas at 0.6 MPa and RT), it was possible to compute an apparent diffusivity and solubility in the crack tip region. The apparent solubility and diffusivity in the deformed regions were two times and five orders of magnitude higher than the ones on annealed material, respectively. High hydrogen content was found around the crack tip, where the plastic deformation was well developed (pronounced slip activity). The high apparent diffusivity is presumed to result from enhanced hydrogen transport induced by cyclic plastic activity at the crack tip.     

Crack growth rate in hydrogen pre-charged martensitic steels during slow strain rate tests

Crack growth rate in two high strength martensitic steels with the Mo contents of 0.43 wt.% and 1.06 wt.% was investigated by means of slow strain rate tests (SSRT) on compact tensile specimens after hydrogen pre-charging. It was found that the crack growth rate increased and the values of stress intensity factors K_IH and K_Imax decreased with the increase of pre-charged hydrogen concentration. The steel with higher Mo content showed much lower crack growth rate than the steel with lower Mo content. It could be attributed to more nano-sized precipitates that can act as the hydrogen trapping sites and mitigate hydrogen deleterious effects on crack growth rate and the K_IH and K_Imax values.     

Ductility and fatigue properties of low nickel content type 316L austenitic stainless steel after gaseous thermal pre-charging with hydrogen

The susceptibility of low nickel content type 316L austenitic stainless steel to hydrogen was quantified using low strain rate tensile tests and strain-controlled low-cycle fatigue life measurements. Both tests were performed under air condition after charging with high-pressure 10-MPa hydrogen gas at 300 °C for eight days. No significant influence of hydrogen was recognized in 0.2% proof stress, but the strain at fracture and reduction area was decreased significantly in both hydrogen pre-charged and in gaseous hydrogen conditions compared to companion tests conducted in air. The decrease of fatigue life in the high strain amplitude region was related to a significant decrease in the plastic component while the effect of hydrogen on the elastic component was negligible. Highly localized deformation and a pronounced martensite transformation occurred near the site of the fracture surface in the high strain amplitude regime, resulting in the early formation of abundant micro-surface cracks in this regime of the hydrogen pre-charged samples.     

Three-dimensional interconnected MoS2 nanosheets on industrial 316L stainless steel mesh as an efficient hydrogen evolution electrode

The development of inexpensive and competent electrocatalysts for high-efficiency hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has been greatly significant to realize hydrogen production in large scale. In this paper, we selected the inexpensive and commercially accessible stainless steel as the conductive substrate for loading MoS₂ as a cathode for efficient HER under alkaline condition. Interconnected MoS₂ nanosheets were grown uniformly on 316-type stainless steel meshes with different mesh numbers via a facile hydrothermal way. And the optimized MoS₂/stainless steel electrocatalysts exhibited superior electrocatalytic performance for HER with a low overpotential of 160 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and a small Tafel slope of 61 mV dec⁻¹ in 1 M KOH. Systematic study of the electrochemical properties was performed on the MoS₂/stainless steel electrocatalysts in comparison with the commonly used carbon cloth to better comprehend the origin of the superior HER performance as well as stability. By collaborative optimization of MoS₂ nanosheets and the cheap stainless steel substrate, the interconnected MoS₂ nanosheets on stainless steel provide an alternative strategy for the development of efficient and robust HER catalysts in strong alkaline environment.     

Hydrogen embrittlement behavior in interstitial Mn–N austenitic stainless steel

The susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement behavior was investigated in an interstitial Mn–N austenitic steel HR183 and stainless steel 316L. Hydrogen was introduced by cathodic hydrogen charging at 363 K. HR183 has stronger austenite stability than 316L despite its lower nickel content, the addition of manganese and nitrogen inhibited martensitic transformation during the slow strain rate tensile deformation. Due to the diffusion of hydrogen being delayed by the interstitial solution of nitrogen atoms and the uniform dislocation slips, hydrogen permeates more slowly in HR183 than 316L, contributing to an 84.79 μm thinner brittle fracture layer in HR183 steel. Hydrogen charging caused elongation losses in both 316L and HR183 steels associated with the hydrogen-enhanced localized plasticity (HELP) and hydrogen-enhanced decohesion (HEDE) mechanism. However, the hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of HR183 is 3.4 times lower than that of 316L according to the difference in elongation loss between the two steel after hydrogen charging. Deformation twins trapped a lot amount of hydrogen leading to brittle intergranular fracture in 316L. The multiple directions of slip in HR183 steel suppressed the strain localization inside grains and delayed the adverse effects conducted by HELP and HEDE mechanism, eventually inhibiting server hydrogen embrittlement in the HR183 steel. This study is assisting in the development of low-cost stainless steel with excellent hydrogen embrittlement resistance that can be used in harsh hydrogen-containing environments.     

Electrochemical and hydrogen evolution behaviour of a novel nano-cobalt/nano-chitosan composite coating on a surgical 316L stainless steel alloy as an implant

Herein, nanocomposite coatings consisting of chitosan (CSNPs) and cobalt nanoparticles (CoNPs) were deposited on bare 316L stainless steel alloy (316L SS) as a bone implant. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) were applied to characterize the morphological and chemical composition of the tested nanocoatings. In-vitro degradation and hydrogen evolution behaviour of the coated samples were examined by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization techniques, in Hank's solution containing of 1 × 10^?3 M calcium hydrogen phosphate drug at pH 7.4 and temperature 37 °C. This drug used as an inhibitor for protecting the alloy surface from the corrosive medium and minimized the hydrogen evolution rate. Results showed that the di-phasic coating (CoNPs-CSNPs) gave the highest electrochemical corrosion resistance with the lowest hydrogen evolution rate in comparison to the monophasic coatings (CS-NPs & Co-NPs). These corrosion results suggested that a CoNPs-CSNPs nanocomposite coating on 316L SS was effective for renewable or functional implants.     

Hydrogen embrittlement behavior in the nugget zone of friction stir welded X100 pipeline steel

Hydrogen-induced damage is an inevitable challenge in pipeline safety applications, especially, the fusion welded joints owing to microstructure heterogeneity caused by welding process. In this work, X100 pipeline steel was subjected to friction stir welding (FSW) at rotation rates of 300–600 rpm under water cooling, and the relationship among the microstructure, hydrogen diffusivity, and hydrogen embrittlement (HE) behavior of the nugget zone (NZ) were studied. The NZ at 600 rpm had the highest effective hydrogen diffusion coefficient (D_eff) of 2.1 × 10^?10 m²/s because of the highest dislocation density and lowest ratio of effective grain boundary. The D_eff decreased with decreasing rotation rate due to the decrease of dislocation density and the increase of ratio of effective grain boundary, and the lowest D_eff of 1.32 × 10^?10 m²/s was obtained at 300 rpm. After hydrogen charging, the tensile strength of all specimens decreased slightly, while the elongation decreased significantly. As the rotation rate decreased, the elongation loss was obviously inhibited, and ultimately a lowest elongation loss of 31.8% was obtained at 300 rpm. The abovementioned excellent mechanical properties were attributed to the fine ferrite/martensite structure, low D_eff, and strong {111}//ND texture dramatically inhibiting hydrogen-induced cracking initiation and propagation.     

Simulation of the impact of internal pressure on the integrity of a hydrogen-charged Type-316L stainless steel during slow strain rate tensile test

A hydrogen-charged Type-316L austenitic stainless steel represents a slight loss of tensile ductility and cup-and-cone fracture accompanied by small-sized dimple. The reduction in the dimple size is interpreted to be attributed to void sheets caused by localized slip deformations by hydrogen. This paper aims to clarify the contribution of an internal pressure to the characteristic void growth of a hydrogen-charged Type-316L stainless steel during slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) test in air at room temperature. The internal pressure of pre-existing voids in the specimen charged by 100 MPa hydrogen gas at 270 °C for 200 h was simulated by diffusion-desorption analysis of hydrogen with the finite differential method (FDM). The subsequent impact of the internal pressure on the void growth was simulated by fracture-mechanics approach with the finite element method (FEM). The simulations performed under various void morphologies and fracture toughness suggested that the internal pressure in the voids was significantly low, hardly affecting the void growth.     

Fatigue crack propagation behavior of fuel cell membranes after chemical degradation

The durability of fuel cells is significantly impaired by chemical and mechanical degradations of perfluorosulfonic-acid membranes. However, how the mechanical degradation, especially the fatigue crack propagation behavior, is impacted by chemical degradation is not clear. In this paper, the fatigue crack propagation behavior of Nafion 212 and Nafion XL composite membranes after chemical degradation are investigated. The fluoride release rates of Nafion 212 and Nafion XL membrane are 0.335 and 0.095 μmol cm⁻² h⁻¹, respectively. Likewise, the fatigue crack propagation rate of Nafion 212 membrane is also larger, which is attributed to two fatigue crack propagation mechanisms induced by chemical degradation, including bubble collapsing and pore interconnecting. By contrast, the fatigue crack propagation mechanism of Nafion XL membrane is not significantly changed where chemical degradation only accelerates crack growth in exterior surface layers. These findings provide new insights into the failure mechanisms under combined chemical and mechanical degradations.     

Strain rate and hydrogen effects on crack growth from a notch in a Fe-high-Mn steel containing 1.1 wt% solute carbon

Effects of strain rate and hydrogen on crack propagation from a notch were investigated using a Fe-33Mn-1.1C steel by tension tests conducted at a cross head displacement speeds of 10⁻² and 10⁻⁴ mm/s. Decreasing cross head displacement speed reduced the elongation by promoting intergranular crack initiation at the notch tip, whereas the crack propagation path was unaffected by the strain rate. Intergranular cracking in the studied steel was mainly caused by plasticity-driven mechanism of dynamic strain aging (DSA) and plasticity-driven damage along grain boundaries. With the introduction of hydrogen, decrease in yield strength due to cracking at the notch tip before yielding as well as reduction in elongation were observed. Coexistence of several hydrogen embrittlement mechanisms, such as hydrogen enhanced decohesion (HEDE) and hydrogen enhanced localized plasticity (HELP) were observed at and further away from the notch tip resulting in hydrogen assisted intergranular fracture and cracking which was the key reason behind the ductility reduction.