Synergistic effects of Nb and Mo on hydrogen-induced cracking of pipeline steels:A combined experimental and numerical study

The synergistic effects of Nb and Mo on hydrogen-induced cracking(HIC)of pipeline steels were studied experimentally and numerically.The results showed that Mo was primarily segregated at grain-boundaries(GBs)or solid-dissolved in the matrix,while most Nb and a small amount of Mo formed dis-persed(Nb,Mo)C nano-precipitates and refined the microstructure.Compared with Nb alloying,the multi-ple additions of Nb-Mo played dual roles in affecting H diffusion:primarily,the H-traps densities such as GBs,precipitates,and solute Mo atoms increased,providing an advantage;however,Mo slightly reduced the H-trapping capacity of precipitates,playing an adverse role.Nonetheless,the beneficial effects far outweighed the adverse effects,thereby reducing H diffusivity and inhibiting crack initiation.Addition-ally,Nb and Mo hindered crack propagation synergistically as follows:(i)Mo enhanced GB cohesion by repelling H,impeding intergranular cracking and hydrogen-enhanced decohesion(HEDE);(ii)Nb reduced the proportion of3/high-angle grain boundaries,increasing cracking resistance;(iii)(Nb,Mo)C precip-itates impeded H-dislocation interactions,reducing the hydrogen-enhanced localized plasticity(HELP).