Abstract
Hydrogen precharged specimens were tested in a disc-on-disc tribometer to study the early stages of crack formation that, with cycling, eventually generate WEC or WSF. Specimens whose contact surface was intact were analysed and at subsurface numerous small transgranular cracks were found, as well as sequences of unlinked voids. Premature WEC with fine cracks and little microstructural alteration volume were also found. This paper aims to clarify certain concepts of debate concerning WEC such as the formation of WEAs, the initiation and propagation of cracks and the influence of defects in steel, the mechanisms by which hydrogen favours the development of cracks and WEAs and the transgranular character of cracks. Finally, a crack formation mechanism is proposed which may lead to a novel hypothesis on the mechanism of WEA formation.
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