Hydrogen Induceed Cracking of Stainless Steels

Delayed Cracking of Metastable Austenitic Stainless Steels after Deep Drawing

In metastable austenitic stainless steels, strain-induced martensitic transformation during plastic deformation enhances work hardening of the material, increasing its strength and in some cases also ductility.1,2) The presence of α’-martensite, however, may increase the susceptibility of these materials to hydrogen embrittlement phenomena, for example delayed cracking.3–6) Delayed cracking can...

Hydrogen-Induced Delayed Cracking in TRIP-Aided Lean-Alloyed Ferritic-Austenitic Stainless Steels

Susceptibility of three lean-alloyed ferritic-austenitic stainless steels to hydrogen-induced delayed cracking was examined, concentrating on internal hydrogen contained in the materials after production operations. The aim was to study the role of strain-induced austenite to martensite transformation in the delayed cracking susceptibility. According to the conducted deep drawing tests and cons...

Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance of Martensitic Stainless Steels for Transmutation Applications

Low-Temperature Carburization of Austenitic Stainless Steels

LOW-TEMPERATURE CARBURIZATION is a gaseous carburization process performed at atmospheric pressure, at temperatures where the kinetics of substitutional diffusion are very slow. Low-temperature carburization hardens the surface of austenitic stainless steels through the diffusion of interstitial carbon, without the formation of carbides. The surface must be activated, by modification and remova...

A Comparison of Hydrogen Embrittlement and Stress Corrosion Cracking in High Strength Steels

The purpose of this study was to compare the known behavior of hydrogen embrittled high-strength steel to the characteristics of environmentallyinduced stress corrosion failure where hydrogen is continuously generated at the specimen surface. The incubation time for the initiation of slow crack growth was accelerated by prestressing for a fixed time below the lower critical limit. These results...