| Abstract: | The present survey is devoted to the investigation of a dangerous phenomenon (quite often observed in the process of arc welding) of the formation of hydrogen-induced cold cracks in welded joints of structural steels. We briefly analyze the existing models of the mechanism of hydrogen embrittlement. It is shown that difficulties in understanding the processes of initiation and growth of cold cracks are explained not only by the necessity of determination of the principal factors which govern the embrittling action of hydrogen but also by the absence of reliable knowledge of the microscopic mechanisms of fracture processes in metals. We suggest a new model of hydrogen embrittlement of metals with bcc lattice developed at the Paton Institute of Electric Welding. According to this model, atomic hydrogen adsorbed on the metal surface in the form of anions affects the surface energy of submicrocracks appearing in dislocation clusters in the process of deformation whose initial period of propagation obeys the classical Griffith scheme. The proposed model enables one to explain all known distinctive features of the cold cracking of welded joints and forms a groundwork for the physical simulation based the use of mathematical methods and aimed at the quantitative evaluation of the contribution of each factor to the indicated processes. Paton Institute of Electric Welding, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Kiev. Translated from Fizyko-Khimichna Mekhanika Materialiv, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 53–66, January–February, 1996. |
