Abstract
Austenitic stainless steels are often considered candidate materials for use in hydrogen-containing environments because of their low hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility. In this study, the fatigue crack growth behavior of the solution-annealed and cold-rolled 301, 304L, and 310S austenitic stainless steels was characterized in 0.2 MPa gaseous hydrogen to evaluate the hydrogen-assisted fatigue crack growth and correlate the fatigue crack growth rates with the fracture feature or fracture surface roughness. Regardless of the testing conditions, higher fracture surface roughness could be obtained in a higher stress intensity factor (∆K) range and for the counterpart cold-rolled specimen in hydrogen. The accelerated fatigue crack growth of 301 and 304L in hydrogen was accompanied by high fracture surface roughness and was associated with strain-induced martensitic transformation in the plastic zone ahead of the fatigue crack tip.
Highlights
Austenitic stainless steels (ASSs) are used extensively in different industries because of their superior corrosion resistance, adequate mechanical properties, and low hydrogen embrittlement (HE)susceptibility
The fatigue specimens are nominated according to their testing condition; the suffix “a” or “h” is for the specimen fatigue-tested in air or hydrogen, respectively
In the electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) map, the red region represents the site of α0 -martensite, yellow is the ε0 -martensite, and blue is the austenite matrix
Summary
Austenitic stainless steels (ASSs) are used extensively in different industries because of their superior corrosion resistance, adequate mechanical properties, and low hydrogen embrittlement (HE). The strain-induced martensite in the metastable ASSs provides a short path for the diffusion of hydrogen to the fatigue crack tip, leading to an increased hydrogen concentration in the plastic zone [29,30,31,32]. Brittle fracture of strain-induced martensite ahead of the crack tip accounts for accelerated fatigue crack growth rates (FCGRs) of the ASSs in hydrogen as compared with those in air [33,34]. The FSR is measured with a conventional roughness tester which provides a simple and economic solution for acquiring the fracture surface profile. It helps to distinguish the fracture mechanism of a fatigue sample. The crack path was inspected using an electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) approach
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