Hydrogen Embrittlement of Nitrogenating Layer on Martensitic Alloys

Nitriding of the surface in martensitic stainless steels is commonly carried out to improve their wear resistance. The process of plasma nitriding in stainless steel is influenced by two mechanisms: physical diffusion through the surface and chemical gas-metal reaction. The inner nitriding interaction involves the simultaneous penetration and formation of a solid solution, as well as the interaction of nitrogen with specific alloying elements, resulting in the development of homogeneous and heterogeneous structures. Our study concludes that the observed intergranular hydrogen embrittlement and crack formation during the surface nitridation process of AMS 5719 martensite alloy steel can be attributed to the ammonium concentration of approximately 50% at a temperature of 530˚C.

Critical Time and Temper Embrittlement Isotherms

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ELECTRONIC STATES AND HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENTIN TRANSITION METALS

An electronic approach to the mechanism of hydrogen embrittlement in metals is pre-sented and discussed. Some problems of the mechanism of hydrogen embrittlement are pointed out from an electronic point of view. Electronic structure calculations in a periodically cleaved or slipped lattice are developed in orker to identofy deformation-sensitive electronic states in the absence of hydrogen. The calculational results are given and discussed for a trunsition metal, Pd. Electronic structure calculations in the presence of hydrogen are outlined and hydrogen embrittlement in transition metals is discussed in terms of electronic states.

EFFECT OF ALLOYING ELEMENTS ON SENSITIVITY TO ENVIRONMENTAL EMBRITTLEMENT OF L1_2 INTERMETALLICS

The effect of Zr doping in Ni 3Al and B doping in Co 3Ti intermetallics on the sensitivity to moisture induced environmental embrittlement and on the hydrogen diffusivity was investigated. The results show that both B in Co 3Ti and Zr in Ni 3Al do not reduce the hydrogen diffusivity along the grain boundaries, therefore can not suppress the moisture induced environmental embrittlement. The above mentioned behavior of Zr in Ni 3Al and B in Co 3Ti is attributed to the fact that Zr and B are not segregated on the grain boundaries.

Recursive Determination for Effect of Alloying Element on Impurity Induced Low Angle Grain Boundary Embrittlement

The effect of alloying element (Ni, Co, Mn) on P doped Fe 5.3° low angle grain boundary (GB) embrittlement was investigated by the Recursion method. The model of dislocations was used to construct the atomic structure for the P doped GB. The result indicated that the role of impurity and alloying element segregation to GB can be studied with BOI and the difference between their segregation energies at GB and at free surface (FS) (ΔE=Egbseg-Efsseg). The BOI results showed that P leads the “loosening” of the 5.3° low angle GB and decreases the cohesion strength of P doped GB when the alloying element (Ni, Co, or Mn) is added into the P doped 5.3° low angle GB. The ΔE value reveals that the alloying element Ni, Co and Mn have higher energy at P doped 5.3° low angle GB, indicating it serves as a GB embrittler. The BOI results and ΔE calculation were comparable with each other, and they are also consistent with the experimental results, which confirm the embrittling effect of alloying element (Ni, Co, Mn) on P-induced GB embrittlement.

EFFECT OF CHROMIUM AND BORON ON ENVIRONMENTAL EMBRITTLEMENT OF FORGED Fe_3Al

The effects of addition of chromium or boron on room temperature tensile properties,fracture behavior and susceptibility to test environments (air vs. vacuuwi of forged Fe3Al have been investigated. The results indicated that both chromium and boron result in increasing room temperuture ductility and fracture strength of the Fe3Al alloy whether tested in air or in vacuum. The susceptibility to test envimnment was described with the embrittlement index I: I=(δv-δA)/δv. The embrittlement indexes, for Fe-30Al, Fe-30Al-4Cr and Fe-30Al-0. 13B (at. %), are 24%, 37% and 29%,respectively. Scanning electron microscope examination of fracture surface revealed that the fracture mode of the three alloys remains unchanged, and all of them exhibited a transgranular cleavage fracture mode when tested in vacuum or air.

Hydrogen embrittlement of X80 pipeline steel in H2S environment: Effect of hydrogen charging time, hydrogen-trapped state and hydrogen charging–releasing–recharging cycles

This study investigated the susceptibility of X80 pipeline steel to hydrogen embrittlement given different hydrogen pre-charging times and hydrogen charging–releasing–recharging cycles in H2S environment.The fracture strain of the steel samples decreased with increasing hydrogen pre-charging time;this steel degradation could almost be recovered after diffusible hydrogen was removed when the hydrogen pre-charging time was<8 d.However,unrecoverable degeneration occurred when the hydrogen pre-charging time extended to 16–30 d.Moreover,nanovoid formation meant that the hydrogen damage to the steel under intermittent hydrogen pre-charging–releasing–recharging conditions was more serious than that under continuous hydrogen pre-charging conditions.This study illustrated that the mechanical degradation of steel is inevitable in an H2S environment even if diffusible hydrogen is removed or visible hydrogen-induced cracking is neglected.Furthermore,the steel samples showed premature fractures and exhibited a hydrogen fatigue effect because the repeated entry and release of diffusible hydrogen promoted the formation of vacancies that aggregated into nanovoids.Our results provide valuable information on the mechanical degradation of steel in an H2S environment,regarding the change rules of steel mechanical properties under different hydrogen pre-charging times and hydrogen charging–releasing–recharging cycles.

ATOMIC SCALE MECHANISM OF RESTRAINED EMBRITTLEMENT IN AMORPHOUS Fe_(78)B_(13)Si_9 ALLOY BY ELECTRIC PULSE RAPID ANNEALING

The direct observations of the atomic arrangements in both conventional furnace annealed and electric pulse rapid annealed Fe78B13Si9 amorphous alloy have been conducted by the lattice imaging technique in a higt resolution electron microscope. The results showed that the embrittlement of the alloy was related to the extent of atomic rearrangements during the annealing processes. The embrittlement of the alloy after 1hour conventional furnace annealing at about 270℃ is caused by the sufficient atomic rearrangements which are characterized by the growth of some bct Fe3B-like atomic short range ordering regions already existed in the as-quenched structure. Electric pulse rapid annealing can effectively retard the above-mentioned atomic rearrangements and thus restrain the embrittlement. The embrittlement only occurs when certain amount of bcc α-Fe nanocrystals are precipitated in the amorphous matrix during electric pulse rapid annealing.

Effect of Morphology for Novel Bainite/Martensite Dual-Phase High Strength Steel on Its Hydrogen Embrittlement Susceptibility

The susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement ofbainite/martensite dual-phase high strength steel with different morphologies obtained by the conventional and thermo-mechanical heat treatments has been investigated by means of electrolytic hydrogen charging. The results showed that the finer the microstructure, the lower the sensitivity of steel to hydrogen embrittlement. The fractographic analysis suggested that the fracture mode of the hydrogen-charged specimens is of a mixture of quasicleavage and dimple for both treating processes. The quasicleavage facet of the thermomechanical treated specimen is smaller than that of the conventional heated one, which is probably the reason for reducing the susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement. Fracture metallographic observations showed that the crack propagates preferentially along bainite/martensite laths boundary, and suggested that the fracture mode is of predominantly lath boundary separation.

Effect of in-situ nanoparticles on the mechanical properties and hydrogen embrittlement of high-strength steel

We investigated the critical influence of in-situ nanoparticles on the mechanical properties and hydrogen embrittlement(HE)of high-strength steel.The results reveal that the mechanical strength and elongation of quenched and tempered steel(919 MPa yield strength,17.11%elongation)are greater than those of hot-rolled steel(690 MPa yield strength,16.81%elongation)due to the strengthening effect of insitu Ti_(3)O_(5)–Nb(C,N)nanoparticles.In addition,the HE susceptibility is substantially mitigated to 55.52%,approximately 30%lower than that of steels without in-situ nanoparticles(84.04%),which we attribute to the heterogeneous nucleation of the Ti_(3)O_5 nanoparticles increasing the density of the carbides.Compared with hard TiN inclusions,the spherical and soft Al_(2)O_(3)–MnS core–shell inclusions that nucleate on in-situ Al_(2)O_(3) particles could also suppress HE.In-situ nanoparticles generated by the regional trace-element supply have strong potential for the development of high-strength and hydrogen-resistant steels.

INFLUENCE OF INTERNAL HYDROGEN ON THE HYDROGENEMBRITTLEMENT OF AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL

The HE (hydrogen embrittlement) behavior of two kinds of austenitic stee Cr21Ni6Mn9 and 1Cr18Ni9Ti is reprted in this paper. The factors (temperc-ture/strain rate/stress concentration coefficient and purity of hydrogen) are restricted to the severe conditions under which HE is easy to occur. The concentmtion of in-ternal hydrogen in samples is changed by varying the time during which samples are placed in 24 MPa hydrogen at 473 K Then the tensile properties of the samples are tested. The results indicate that the degree of the hydrogen-induced plastic loss (L)of Cr21Ni6Mn9 is different with the internal hydrogen(CH). Howeven even when CH is as high as 70 PPm L is 15% and the fracture may be explained as a larpe amount of internal hydrogen hinders the cross-slip of dislocations when the steel is deforming.For the metastable steel 1Cr18Ni9Ti the hydrogen-induced plastic loss is severer than that of Cr21Ni6Mn9. When CH is 40 PPm its L is as high as 42%. The mechanism may be explained as a larpe amount of hyderpen decreases the stacking fault enerpy and brittle ε-phase is produed in the high CH areas.

Investigation on RQ Embrittlement Mechanism of FeCuNbSiB Soft Magnetic Alloy

The XRD,TEM,PAT,Curie temperature and internal friction methods were used to study systematically the embrittlement mechanism of rapidly quenched(RQ) nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloy Fe_(73.5)Cu_1Nb_3Si_(13.5)B_9.The test results confirmed that the RQ embrittlement mechanism of amorphous alloy FeCuNbSiB was not related to crystallization but that was related to structural relaxation.Furthermore,the structural relaxation temperature of amorphous alloy FeCuNbSiB was much lower than that of used commonly amorphous alloy Fe_(78)B_(13)Si_9.It meant that the RQ embrittlement is easier to happen for nanocrystalline alloy FeCuNbSiB than amorphous alloy Fe-B-Si.

EFFECT OF MICROSTRUCTURES OF HIGH STRENGTH STEEL ON SUSCEPTIBILITY OF CADMIUM EMBRITTLEMENT

The effect of different microstructures of steel 30CrMnSiNi2A on the susceptibility ofcadmium embrittlement has been studied and compared under the unique yield strength level.The results show that the tempered martensite exhibits the maximum susceptibility tocadmium embrittlement,while the lower bainite shows the minimum susceptibility.The mixedmicrostructure of the above two has a susceptibility in between.

STUDY OF MECHANISM OF RQ EMBRITTLEMENT OF Fe_(73.5)Cu_1-Nb_3Si_(13.5)B_9 NANOCRYSTALLINE SOFT MAGNETIC ALLOY

Rapidly quenching embrittlement (RQE) sometimes appears in Fe73.5 Cu1 Nb3Si13.5B9nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloy (FINEMET) during production process. As a re-sult of RQE the ductility of the as-quenched ribbon drops seriously. The mechanism ofRQE has been elucidated in the recent works of current authors. It was believed thatRQE is due to the structural relaxation but not related to α-Fe(Si) crystallization. Inthis paper, the high resolution TEM (HRTEM) method and image digital processingwere applied to analyze the HRTEM images of two FINEMET rapidly quenched rib-bons with different thicknesses in detail. In the thinner ductile sample, the orderingdomains with the size of about 3nm are observed. In the thicker RQE sample, themetastable nanocrystalline domains with the size are 18nm are observed along with thestructural relaxation. These domains seem to have Fe3B-like metastable phase struc-ture on nanometer scale. The result indicates that the local atomic ordering regionsextend when RQE induced by structural relaxation occurs.

SURFACE REACTION，HYDROGEN DIFFUSIVITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL EMBRITTLEMENT OF INTERMETALLIC COMPOUNDS Ni_3Al AND Fe_3Al

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Material embrittlement in high strain-rate loading

Material embrittlement is often encountered in machining,heat treatment,hydrogen and lowtemperature conditions among which machining is strain-rate related.More strain-rate evoked embrittlement is expected in material loading processes,such as in high-speed machining and projectile penetration.In order to understand the fundamental mechanisms of the strain-rate evoked material embrittlement,this study is concerned with the material responses to loading at high strain-rates.It then explores the strain-rate evoked material embrittlement and fragmentation during high strain-rate loading processes and evaluates various empirical and physical models from different researchers for the assessment of the material embrittlement.The study proposes strain-rate sensitivity for the characterization of material embrittlement and the concept of the pseudo embrittlement for material responses to very high strain-rates.A discussion section is arranged to explore the underlying mechanisms of the strain-rate evoked material embrittlement and fragmentation based on dislocation kinetics.

EFFECT OF LASER CLADDING ON HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT RESISTANCE OF AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL

A plasma spraying plus laser remelting technique has been performed. onaustenite stainless steel (22Cr-13Ni-5Mn ) with a newly developed hydrogen resistantcoating material. The results show that the surface cladding layer can effectively reducethe hydrogen content increasing of the stainless steel under the atmosphere of high pres-sure (30MPa), high temperature (300℃) and high purity (99. 995%) hydrogen andgreatly improve the hydrogen embrittlement resistance of the stain1ess steel. Throughanalysis of microstructure, a mechanism of hydrogen embrittlement resistance is presentedthat at room temperature, the surface oxidation films, both existing on the surface ofcoated and uncoated specimens, inhibit the adsorption and diffusion of hydrogen molecu-lae. However, at high temperature, it is the surface cladding layer with relatively low sol-ubility and Permeability for hydrogen that significantly reduces the amount of hydrogenentering into the interior of the material and improves its hydrogen embrittfement resis-tance.

Effect of thermal exposure time on tellurium-induced embrittlement of Ni–16Mo–7Cr–4Fe alloy

The embrittlement of nickel-based structural alloys by fission-produced tellurium(Te) is a major challenge for molten salt reactors(MSR). In this study, the effects of thermal exposure time on tellurium diffusion in a candidate MSR structural alloy(Ni–16 Mo–7 Cr–4 Fe) and the consequent mechanical property degradation of the alloy were investigated through surrogate diffusion experiments at 700 °C. The results show that some tellurium reacted with the alloy to form tellurides on the surface,while some tellurium diffused into the alloy along grain boundaries. Ni_3Te_2 and CrTe were the most stable reaction products at the tested temperature, and the formation of CrTe on the surface induced the Cr depletion at grain boundaries of the alloy. The diffusion depth of Te increased gradually with thermal exposure time, and thediffusion rate kept stable within the test duration of up to3000 h. The Te diffusion in the alloy caused the embrittlement of grain boundaries, inducing crack formation and strength degradation in tensile test at room temperature.

EVALUATION OF EMBRITTLEMENT BEHAVIOR DUETO SENSITIZATION IN A CRYOGENIC AUSTENITICSTAINLESS STEEL BY MEANS OF SMALL PUNCHAND FRACTURE TOUGHNESS TESTS

In order to evaluate the tendency of mechanical properties degrudation due to weld-ing and other processing in materials used for supporting coils in super conducting rnaguets utilized in thermonuclear jusion reactore, a small punch (SP) test was used.This test, which was originally developed to study irradiation damage using miniatursized specimens was performed at 77 and 4 K for solution treated and sensitized JN1 austenitic stainless steel, a candidate cryogenic structural material. The area under the load-deflection curve up to the maximum applied load in SP test was defined as the SP enerpy, to characterize the resistance to fracture. Although solution treated material exhibited ductile fracture mode with high SP enerpy, embrittlement behavior due to sensitization at 650-800°for 1-5 h was shown clearlg by SP test with brittle intergranular fracture and decreased SP enerpy. Comparison of the results obtained by SP test with those by fracture toughness test showed the usefulness of SP test for evaluation of sensitization induced embrittlement at cryogenic temperature. The re-sults obtained in this study can be very usefol in predicting the degradation due to welding and other processing in cryogenic materials.

PHOSPHORUS SEGREGATION AND ANNEALING EMBRITTLEMENT OF Ni-P AMORPHOUS

Phosphorus segregation and embrittlement of Ni-P amorphous annealed at the temperaturesbelow crystallization have been investigated.The phosphorus enrichs on free surface and itslevel increases with annealing temperature.This is fairly coincident with the measuredtoughness which decreases with annealing temperature.AES ion-sputtering revealed that aphosphorus depletion zone in the subsurface layers forms due to element redistribution duringannealing.The thickness and amplitude of the phosphorus depletion zone depend on the an-nealing temperature.The formation of depletion zone and the mechanism of embrittlement of Ni-P amorphousduring annealing have been discussed based on the theory of the activation energy of atomicdiffusion in the amorphous being variable.