Hydrogen trapping and embrittlement of titanium- and vanadium carbide-containing steels after high-temperature hydrogen charging

Tim Boot*, Athira Suresh Kumar, Santhana Eswara, Pascal Kömmelt, Amarante Böttger, Vera Popovich

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

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Abstract

Abstract: This work studies the effect of TiC and VC precipitate sizes on hydrogen trapping and embrittlement. Two experimental ferritic HSLA steels containing either TiC or VC carbides for precipitation strengthening are annealed in nitrogen and hydrogen gas. This results in a hydrogen uptake of up to 0.91 and 0.44 wppm in the TiC and VC steels, respectively. TEM and TDS analysis indicate that semi-coherent TiC particles trap hydrogen in misfit dislocations with an activation energy of 43 kJ/mol. Coherent VC particles are suggested to trap hydrogen in interface carbon vacancies, with an energy between 53 and 72 kJ/mol. Carbon vacancies are the likely trapping site in incoherent precipitates, where SIMS imaging confirms that incoherent TiC precipitates trap preferentially near the interface, whereas incoherent VC precipitates trap throughout their bulk. Neither alloy is embrittled in SSRT tests after hydrogen absorption, which shows that these precipitates can be used as both a hydrogen sink and a strengthening mechanism in steels. Graphical abstract: (Figure presented.)

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7873-7892
Number of pages20
JournalJournal of Materials Science
Volume59
Issue number18
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

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