TY - JOUR A1 - Rhode, Michael A1 - Mente, Tobias A1 - Kannengießer, Thomas A1 - Schaupp, Thomas A1 - Zavdoveev, Anatoly T1 - Challenges for testing hydrogen-assisted cold cracking in weld seams of high-strength steel grades N2 - Hydrogen can cause weld cold cracking even days after fabrication. In this respect, higher strength steels present a challenge to established cold crack testing. In general, the tolerable hydrogen concentration for crack prevention decreases with increasing material strength. In addition, advanced welding processes require changes in weld geometry and heat input. This directly influences the formation of crack-critical microstructures, e.g. in hardened areas of the heat-affected zone. The limits of use and application of modern cold cracking tests are evaluated by (1) the externally loaded Implant-test and (2) the self-restraint Tekken-test. In particular, external mechanical stresses, which cause additional mechanical loads on the components during welding, must be considered due to the component-specific stiffness of high-strength steels. Accompanying test methods for determining hydrogen concentration and diffusion in welds are presented, such as carrier gas hot extraction for determining hydrogen concentration (ISO 3690) or temperature-dependent diffusion coefficients. These values are of great importance for a holistic approach to the evaluation of the cold cracking sensitivity of high strength steels. KW - Hydrogen KW - Welding KW - Cold cracking test KW - High-strength steel PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.37434/tpwj2024.08.01 SN - 0957-798X VL - 2024 IS - 8 SP - 3 EP - 9 PB - International Association "Welding" CY - Kyiv, Ukraine AN - OPUS4-60946 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -