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While the problem of the identification of mechanisms of hydrogen assisted damage has and is being thoroughly studied, the quantitative analysis of such damage still lacks suitable tools. In fact, while, for instance, electron microscopy yields excellent characterization, the quantitative analysis of damage requires at the same time large field-of-views and high spatial resolution. Synchrotron X-ray refraction techniques do possess both features. In this work, we show how synchrotron X-ray refraction computed tomography (SXRCT) can quantify damage induced by hydrogen embrittlement in a lean duplex steel, yielding results that overperform even those achievable by synchrotron X-ray absorption computed tomography. As already reported in literature, but this time using a non-destructive technique, we show that the hydrogen charge does not penetrate to the center of tensile specimens. By the comparison between virgin and hydrogen-charged specimens, we deduce that cracks in the specimen bulk are due to the rolling process rather than hydrogen-assisted. We show that (micro)cracks propagate from the surface of tensile specimens to the interior with increasing applied strain, and we deduce that a significant crack propagation can only be observed short before rupture.
Martensitic 9% Cr steels like P91 and P92 can show an increased susceptibility to delayed hydrogen-assisted cracking. The focus of this study was the microstructure and heat treatment efect on the mechanical properties of P92 base material and P91 multi-layer weld metal in both as-welded and post weld heat treated (PWHT) condition. Tensile tests with hydrogen free reference samples and electrochemically hydrogen charged samples were carried out; the mechanical properties were assessed and supported by detailed fractographic analysis. Finally, a hydrogen and microstructure-dependent fracture criterion is established. All investigated microstructures showed a hydrogen-infuenced degradation of the mechanical properties compared to the hydrogen-free reference samples. The as-welded martensitic P91 weld metal had the highest degree of degradation in the presence of hydrogen. The P91 PWHT weld metal and the P92 base material had comparable properties. From that point of view, a signifcantly increased risk for hydrogen-assisted cold cracking during welding fabrication of P91 weld joints must be considered before any heat treatment is conducted.
Neutron imaging is a valuable tool for measuring hydrogen distributions qualitatively and quantitatively in metals. Time-resolved neutron radiography allows to measure hydrogen mass flow inside cm thick steel samples with ~10 s temporal resolution. Hydrogen accumulations around cracks in embrittled iron samples can be visualized three-dimensionally by neutron tomography. This quality of information allows new insights for the analysis of damage mechanisms on a micrometer scale, e.g. of hydrogen blistering. Even the gas pressure of molecular hydrogen in crack cavities has been measured from tomographic reconstructions to be in the range of 5 MPa to 15 MPa for technical iron. Further, this method is non-destructive and provides local information in situ and in all three dimensions with a spatial resolution of 20 - 30 µm. The combination with other methods gives a new quality of information, e.g. of the hydrogen allocation on fractured surfaces.
A common approach to describe hydrogen traps is by their activation energy that is necessary to release hydrogen from the trap. In the present study, Cr-Mo-V steel T24 (7CrMoVTiB10-10) base material and TIG weld metal were investigated. Electrochemically hydrogen charged specimens were analyzed by thermal desorption analysis (TDA) with different linear heating rates. The results show two different effects. At first, the microstructure effect on trapping is evident in terms of higher hydrogen concentrations in the weld metal and increased activation energy for hydrogen release. Secondly, it is necessary to monitor the real specimen temperature. A comparison between the adjusted heating rate and the real specimen temperature shows that the calculated activation energy varies by factor two. Thus, the trap character in case of the base material changes to irreversible at decreased temperature. Hence, the effect of the experimental procedure must be considered as well if evaluating TDA results.
Hydrogen can have an extreme degradation effects in steels, particularly concerning the mechanical properties. These effects can lead to hydrogen-assisted cracking in microalloyed high-strength steels during fabrication and/or operation in industrial applications. In order to study these effects, electrochemically charged tensile specimens were tested to elucidate the degradation of their properties. The carrier gas hot extraction (CGHE) method, which functionally combines a mass spectrometer with a thermal desorption analysis (TDA) process, was used for the detection of ultra-low diffusible hydrogen concentrations in the material specimens. The mass spectrometer provided rapid and automatic determination of hydrogen concentration, whereas the TDA presented the activation energy within the respective test specimen at the specific temperature. Additionally, specimen temperature was carefully monitored to reduce the evaluation error for local effusion peaks. A quenching and deformation dilatometer was used for the analysis of typical heat-affected zones during the welding process for a high reproducibility of the homogenous microstructures that were studied. The present work shows the interaction between hydrogen and lattice defects in different microalloyed materials and heat-affected zones of weldable fine-grained steels. These steels were prepared in a quenched and tempered condition and in a thermo-mechanically rolled condition. These preparations were made according to German standard DIN EN 10025-6 and to DIN EN 10149-2, respectively. The trapping characteristics of two steel grades, S690QL and S700MC, were studied with respect to the activation energy dependent on carbon content and microalloying elements such as Ti, Nb, Mo, Cr, and V. The two steel grades exhibited several types of traps: carbide formations, dislocations, and/or grain boundaries were common, which can influence activation energy and hydrogen solubility. The type and dimension of inclusions or particles also affected the hydrogen trapping behavior. A decrease of carbon and specific alloying elements in thermo-mechanically hot rolled steels led to a change in the activation energy binding the trapped hydrogen. This thermo-mechanically hot rolled steel revealed an increased interaction between hydrogen and precipitations. The higher carbon content in the quenched and tempered steel led to a higher interaction between hydrogen and iron carbide, specifically in the martensitic phase. Furthermore, the trapping behavior in heat-affected zones showed a significant increase in activation energy, especially in the coarse-grained microstructure. These previously mentioned various effects were studied to better understand the degradation of mechanical properties in these two steels.
In recent years, the optimization of the imaging stations at research reactors and especially the further development of the neutron detectors allowed the measurement of hydrogen distributions with increasing spatial and temporal resolution at lower detection limits at the same time. Hydrogen has compared to iron a high total neutron cross section, which allows with basic radiographic methods the visualization of hydrogen in two and three dimensions inside the microstructure of components. This enables the in situ measuring of hydrogen mass flows inside cm thick steel samples with a temporal resolution of 20 s as well as the quantitative measurement of hydrogen accumulations at the crack’s inner surfaces in hydrogen embrittled iron samples. For the first time, we detected directly gaseous hydrogen in the crack cavities and we could measure the gas pressure. This new quality of the information on a micrometer scale allows new insights for the analysis of damage mechanisms, e.g. of hydrogen embrittlement. Further, this method is non-destructive and provides local information in situ and in three dimensions with a spatial resolution of 20-30 µm, which is not accessible with common methods as e.g. thermal desorption spectroscopy.
In this contribution, we show examples that demonstrate the spatial and temporal resolution of the neutron radiography and tomography method in order to visualize and quantify hydrogen accumulations at cracks. The measurements were performed at the research reactor BER II of HZB in Berlin and at the FRM II reactor of the neutron source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz in Garching.
Cold neutrons are predominantly scattered at hydrogen when penetrating hydrogen-charged samples, resulting in a high image contrast between hydrogen and e.g. iron. The used radiographic set-ups consist of a neutron source, state-of-the-art scintillator screens and digital cameras. This allows monitoring diffusive hydrogen fluxes two-dimensionally with 20s temporal resolution. Such hydrogen fluxes can be quantified by using standards with known hydrogen content and similar sample thickness.
Neutron tomography generates three-dimensional models of the hydrogen distribution in steel. Such models gain new insight for damage analysis by showing the hydrogen accumulations around cracks and by enabling the hydrogen gas pressure estimation inside cracks.
The capabilities and limitations, as well as perspectives of this method will be discussed and illustrated with help of selected examples.
Hydrogen can have an extreme degradation effects in steels, particularly concerning the mechanical properties. These effects can lead to hydrogen assisted cracking in micro-alloyed high strength steels during fabrication and/or operation in industrial applications. The Carrier Gas Hot Extraction method, which functionally combines a mass spectrometer with a Thermal Desorption Analysis process, was used for the detection of ultra-low diffusible hydrogen concentrations in the material specimens. The work shows the interaction between hydrogen and lattice defects in different micro-alloyed materials and HAZ. These steels were prepared in a quenched and tempered condition and in a thermo-mechanically rolled condition. The trapping characteristics of two steel grades, S690QL and S700MC, were studied with respect to the activation energy dependent on carbon content and micro-alloying elements such as Ti, Nb, Mo, Cr and V. The two steel grades exhibited several types of traps: carbide formations, dislocations and/or grain boundaries were common, which can influence activation energy and hydrogen solubility. The type and dimension of inclusions or particles also affected the hydrogen trapping behavior. A decrease of carbon and specific alloying elements in MC steels led to a change in the activation energy binding the trapped hydrogen. This thermo-mechanically hot
rolled steel revealed an increased interaction between hydrogen
and precipitations. The higher carbon content in the
quenched and tempered steel led to a higher interaction
between hydrogen and iron carbide, specifically in the
martensitic phase. Furthermore,the trapping behavior in HAZ showed a significant increase in activation energy, especially in the coarse grained microstructure.
Spectacular failure cases of fossil power stations in the recent years exhibited severe cracking in T24 welds. The results show that hydrogen-assisted cracking up to 200 °C cannot be excluded. Hence, it is important to gain a basic understanding on how hydrogen might affect the basic material properties in the respective weld microstructures. The present study focuses on hydrogen degradation of the respective weld microstructures, i.e., the weld metal and the coarse grained heat affected zone, where actually cracking appeared in practice. Tensile tests were carried out for coarse grain heataffected zone (CGHAZ) and the weld metal in uncharged and electrochemically hydrogen-charged condition. It turned out that both microstructures show distinct tendency for gradual degradation of mechanical properties in the presence of increasing hydrogen concentration. Already for a hydrogen concentration about and above 2 ml/100 g Fe, a significant ductility reduction has been observed. SEM investigations revealed that the fracture topography changes from ductile topography in uncharged condition to intergranular topography for the CGHAZ and to ductile-brittle mix for the weld metal (WM) in hydrogen charged condition. Ti-rich inclusions were identified as central regions of quasi-cleavage fracture areas in the WM. An approximation procedure is applied to quantify the degradation intensity.
Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy are well-acknowledged tools in materials characterization. The ability to map chemical species on the surface of an investigated sample with often low mass detection limits makes ToF-SIMS an essential tool in fields where many question marks concerning Degradation processes and damage mechanisms exist. The aim of this paper is to describe the power of data fusion of ToF-SIMS and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy results employing computational methods for multivariate data Analysis such as principal component analysis. As a case study the investigation of hydrogen distribution in an artificially charged Duplex stainless steel microstructure is presented aiming on a better understanding of hydrogen embrittlement.