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Fatigue crack propagation investigations have been performed in austenitic-ferritic duplex stainless steel H22N5M3 in air and during hydrogen charging, using various frequencies of loading. Strong differences of crack propagation velocity depending on the test conditions were noticed. Lower frequency with applied hydrogen charging led to the huge increase of crack propagation velocity compared to the tests performed in air. To understand such a behaviour in each case and characterize crack mode, the samples were observed using electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD). It was shown that in air, the fatigue crack propagation involved plastic deformation and the resulting cracks had ductile character. The presence of hydrogen led to more brittle mode of cracking. This effect was also connected with frequency of loading: lower frequency, which assured longer time for hydrogen-crack tip interaction, resulted in the highest crack propagation velocity and the brittle cracking mode with lower amount of plastic deformation. The performed observations indicated that the path of the crack went mostly transgranularly through both austenite and ferrite phases. Phase and grain boundaries were not the preferred paths for crack propagation.
End of November 2005 strong south-west wind and heavy snowfall were predominant in the region Münsterland, north-western part of Germany. This led to accretion of a considerable quantity of wet snow to overhead electrical lines in form of snow rolls on the conductors. Eighty-two transmission towers failed catastrophically, most of them by buckling, however some by brittle fracture. As a consequence nearly 250,000 people have been cut off from electrical power supply for several days with major media attention.
This paper describes the forensic analysis in order to investigate the failure cause. Therefore extensive materials investigations, mechanical testing of original components and specimens thereof, estimations for the real wind and snow loads and their combinations, structural analyses as well as detailed evaluations on the basis of previous investigations, literature and regulations were conducted. It was revealed that some of the examined components were manufactured from Thomas steel which was partially in embrittled condition. The investigated towers fulfilled the design codes valid at the time of erection. However the present line loads of the wet snow rolls on the conductors exceeded by far the ones given in the design codes valid at that time.
The load case leading to failure was reconstructed by the derived positions of loads mainly caused by unequal and asymmetric distribution of snow rolls on left and right electrical system. The loads and corresponding stresses acting on the structure before failure were estimated. By comparison with the fracture forces from mechanical testing of original members of the collapsed tower the component that primarily failed was localised. The primary fracture occurred on a diagonal member under tension made of Thomas steel which was weakened by embrittlement. The failure cause was a combination of heavy weather conditions (storm, approx. 0 °C and wet snowfall leading to heavy snow rolls on conductors), asymmetric loading conditions and the usage of Thomas steel which was partially embrittled. Finally, recommendations for avoiding future failures are given.
GD-OES as an analytical tool for electroplated components susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement
(2006)
In this study, hydrogen absorption and diffusion were investigated for various high-alloyed ferritic-austenitic duplex steels. On account of the specific transformation and solidification behaviour, respectively, of duplex steels as compared to single-phase ferritic and austenitic steels, special conditions have to be considered concerning hydrogen absorption which may ultimately lead to microstructure-dependent hydrogen-assisted weld metal cracking. Hydrogen absorption during welding may occur via the shielding gas, moisture from the surroundings or via the welding filler material. As a contribution to the interpretation and prediction of hydrogen-induced cracking in welded duplex steels, the actual hydrogen absorption via the arc as well as the weld metal hydrogen diffusion was investigated for the first time in a duplex steel DS (1.4462), a super duplex steel SDS (1.4501) and in a lean duplex steel LDS (1.4162). Isothermal heat treatment using carrier gas hot extraction enabled quantification of the amounts of hydrogen trapped in the respective microstructure areas. The hydrogen diffusion coefficients were determined by analytical and numerical calculation. The total hydrogen concentrations and the diffusion coefficients were found to be nearly identical. Trapped hydrogen was however observed to be dependent on the material and on the microstructure condition. The influence of hydrogen on the mechano-technological properties of the weld metal was characterized with the help of tensile tests. In addition, the hydrogen embrittlement effect was detected in scanning electron microscopic analyses.
The hydrogen influence on the microstructure of the austenitic-ferritic Cr22-Ni5-Mo3 stainless steel was investigated. Cathodic hydrogen charging was performed electrochemically from aqueous solution of 0.1M H2SO4 with hydrogen entry promoter addition. The aim of this study was to reveal microstructural changes appearing during the hydrogen charging and particularly to clarify the occurrence of phase transformations induced by hydrogen. The specific changes in both phases of steel were observed. In the ferritic phase, strong increase of dislocation density was noticed. Longer time of hydrogen charging leaded also to the strips and twin plates formation in ferrite phase. In the austenitic phase, the generation of stacking faults, followed by the formation of α' martensite was remarked.
The interaction of hydrogen with various tungsten-inert-gas-welded austenitic stainless steels’ (AUSS) microstructure is studied by means of desorption/absorption analysis and microstructure observations. One of the limitations of welding is created by the presence of hydrogen in the weld, which can shorten the steel’s service life. The local hydrogen concentration, trapping, and its distribution along the welded samples were studied by thermal desorption spectrometry and were supported by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electronic microstructural observations. Hydrogen content demonstrated a dependence on the welding zone. It was found that hydrogen distribution, and accepted microstructure during welding, played a significant role in the trapping mechanism of 316L AUSS. XRD analysis revealed residual stresses which were caused due to the presence of hydrogen in c-phase. It was shown that the austenite microconstituents inside 316L can have a crucial effect in preventing hydrogen-assisted cracking phenomenon. The effects of AUSS microstructure on hydrogen absorption and desorption behavior are discussed in detail.