Effect of atomic ordering on environmental embrittlement of (Co, Fe)_3V alloy in gaseous hydrogen

The diffusible hydrogen contents in precharged (Co,Fe) 3V alloy were measured. It is found that atomic ordering can not promote hydrogen penetration in the (Co,Fe) 3V alloy. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and ductilities in various condition were also investigated. The results show that the UTS and elongation of disordered alloy are higher than that of ordered one with fixed diffusible hydrogen content and (Co,Fe) 3V alloy with ordered structure is highly susceptible to the embrittlement in hydrogen gas. The factor which may affect the susceptibility to the embrittlement of (Co,Fe) 3V alloy in hydrogen gas is mainly due to that the atomic ordering may accelerate the kinetics of the catalytic reaction for the dissociation of molecular hydrogen into atomic hydrogen. However, it can not be roled out that atomic ordering intensifies planar slip and restricts cross slip at the grain boundaries and enhances the susceptibility of the alloy to hydrogen embrittlement.