Abstract
Hydrogen embrittlement is a phenomenon of hydrogen diffusion into a metal alloy that can cause it to become brittle and fracture. Embrittlement is a critical issue in advanced high strength steels, such as martensitic stainless steels (MSS) and dual phase steels (DPS), and hence, it is necessary to understand this phenomenon to avoid premature material failure under similar conditions. The goal of the current research is to study the changes in the mechanical properties of these steels following the introduction of hydrogen. Samples in this study were cut and polished to conduct hardness measurements before and after electrochemical hydrogen charging. The samples were also chemically etched to characterize the microstructure via optical microscopy and stereology. By conduction stereology on the DPS and MSS samples, the sizes of the various phases were able to be recorded. It was observed that an hour of hydrogen charging increased the hardness of DPS sample from 316 ± 12 HV to 384 ± 21 HV. It did not have significant effect on the MSS sample. Ultimately, this research correlated with the known effects of hydrogen presence with the hardness of MSS and DPS.
Recommended Citation
Bailey, Britney
(2023)
"Hydrogen Embrittlement in Martensitic Stainless Steels and Dual Phase Steels,"
American Journal of Rising Scholar Activities: Vol. 2
Article 2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7771/2692-4161.1010
Available at:
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/ajrsa/vol2/iss1/2