Relationship between hydrogen embrittlement and Md30 temperature: Prediction of low-nickel austenitic stainless steel's resistance

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy 2019-09, Vol.44 (45), p.25064-25075
• Main Authors: Izawa, Chika, Wagner, Stefan, Deutges, Martin, Martín, Mauro, Weber, Sebastian, Pargeter, Richard, Michler, Thorsten, Uchida, Haru-Hisa, Gemma, Ryota, Pundt, Astrid
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Austenitic stainless steel; Hydrogen embrittlement; Martensite transformation; Md30 temperature; Olson-cohen model
• ISSN: 0360-3199
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.07.179

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) of several low-nickel austenitic stainless steels (AISI 300 series) was studied with special attention to the impact of strain induced α′-martensite. The susceptibility of the steels to HE is judged with respect to the relative reduction of area (RRA): The HE susceptibility is lower for larger RRA-values. Strain-induced martensite formation was evaluated within in the framework of the Olson-Cohen model, revealing a linear relationship between RRA and the probability β of martensite nucleus formation in the steels. In order to widen the scope of data evaluation to literature data, the consideration of a parameter alternative to β is required. It is demonstrated that among other parameters the Md30 temperature (Nohara), which assesses the stability against martensitic transformation, can serve as an indicator to predict HE of AISI 300 series steels. Regarding the Md30 temperature (Nohara), a trend-line with respect to the RRA-values is found. Thereby, the RRA-values of low-nickel austenitic stainless steels group into three distinct regimes; (1) for Md30 > −80 °C, where RRA-values decrease with increasing Md30 temperature, (2) at Md30 ≈ −80 °C, where RRA-values show a large variation (‘threshold band’), and (3) for Md30