Hydrogen embrittlement


Hydrogen embrittlement also known as hydrogen assisted cracking and hydrogen-induced cracking, describes the embrittling of metal after being exposed to hydrogen. It is a complex process that is not completely understood because of the variety and complexity of mechanisms that can lead to embrittlement. Mechanisms that have been proposed to explain embrittlement include the formation of brittle hydrides, the creation of voids that can lead to bubbles and pressure build-up within a material and enhanced decohesion or localised plasticity that assist in the propagation of cracks.
For hydrogen embrittlement to occur, a combination of three conditions are required:
  1. the presence and diffusion of hydrogen
  2. a susceptible material
  3. stress
Hydrogen is often introduced during manufacture from operations such as forming, coating, plating or cleaning. Hydrogen may also be introduced over time through environmental exposure, corrosion processes including corrosion of a coating and cathodic protection.
The hydrogen embrittlement phenomenon was first described in 1875.

Mechanisms

During hydrogen embrittlement, hydrogen is introduced to the surface of a metal and individual hydrogen atoms diffuse through the metal structure. Because the solubility of hydrogen increases at higher temperatures, raising the temperature can increase the diffusion of hydrogen. When assisted by a concentration gradient where there is significantly more hydrogen outside the metal than inside, hydrogen diffusion can occur even at lower temperatures.
There are a variety of mechanisms that have been proposed:
Internal pressure:
Adsorbed hydrogen species recombine to form hydrogen molecules, creating pressure from within the metal. This pressure can increase to levels where the metal has reduced ductility, toughness, and tensile strength, up to the point where it cracks open.
Metal hydride formation:
The formation of brittle hydrides with the parent material allows cracks to propagate in a brittle fashion.
Phase transformations:
Phase transformations occur for some materials when hydrogen is present.
Hydrogen enhanced decohesion:

Hydrogen enhanced decohesion where the strength of the atomic bonds of the parent material are reduced.
Hydrogen enhanced localised plasticity:
Hydrogen enhanced localised plasticity is the process where the generation and movement of dislocations is enhanced and results in localised deformation such as at the tip of a crack increasing the propagation of the crack with less deformation in surrounding material giving a brittle appearance to the fracture. Experiments have shown that stationary dislocations begin to move when molecular hydrogen is dissociated and absorbed into pre-strained material.
Hydrogen enhanced vacancy formation:
Vacancy production can be increased in the presence of hydrogen but since vacancies cannot be readily eliminated this proposal is inconsistent with observations the removal of hydrogen reduces the embrittlement.
Hydrogen enhanced dislocation emission:
Hydrogen enhanced dislocation emission proposes that hydrogen is adsorbed onto to the surface and allows dislocations to be generated at lower stress levels thus increasing the level of localised plasticity at the tip of a crack allowing it to propagate more freely.

Material susceptibility

Hydrogen embrittles a variety of substances including steel, aluminium, and titanium. Austempered iron is also susceptible, though austempered steel display increased resistance to hydrogen embrittlement.
In tensile tests carried out on several structural metals under high-pressure molecular hydrogen environment, it has been shown that austenitic stainless steels, aluminium, copper are not susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement along with a few other metals.

Steels

If steel is exposed to hydrogen at high temperatures, hydrogen will diffuse into the alloy and combine with carbon to form tiny pockets of methane at internal surfaces like grain boundaries and voids. This methane does not diffuse out of the metal, and collects in the voids at high pressure and initiates cracks in the steel. This selective leaching process is known as hydrogen attack, or high temperature hydrogen attack, and leads to decarburization of the steel and loss of strength and ductility.
Steel with an ultimate tensile strength of less than 1000 MPa or hardness of less than 32 HRC is not generally considered susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement. As an example of severe hydrogen embrittlement, the elongation at failure of 17-4PH precipitation hardened stainless steel was measured to drop from 17% to only 1.7% when smooth specimens were exposed to high-pressure hydrogen.
As the strength of steels increases, the susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement increases. In high-strength steels, anything above a hardness of HRC 32 may be susceptible to early hydrogen cracking after plating processes that introduce hydrogen. They may also experience long-term failures anytime from weeks to decades after being placed in service due to accumulation of hydrogen over time from cathodic protection and other sources. Numerous failures have been reported in the hardness range from HRC 32-36 and more above; therefore, parts in this range should be checked during quality control to ensure they are not susceptible.

Copper

Copper alloys which contain oxygen can be embrittled if exposed to hot hydrogen. The hydrogen diffuses through the copper and reacts with inclusions of Cu2O, forming H2O, which then forms pressurized bubbles at the grain boundaries. This process can cause the grains to literally be forced away from each other, and is known as steam embrittlement.

Vanadium, nickel, and titanium

A large number of alloys of vanadium, nickel, and titanium absorb significant amounts of hydrogen. This can lead to large volume expansion and damage to the crystal structure leading to the alloys becoming very brittle. This is a particular issue when looking for non-palladium based alloys for use in hydrogen separation membranes.

Prevention

Hydrogen embrittlement can be prevented through several methods, all of which are centered on minimizing contact between the metal and hydrogen, particularly during fabrication and the electrolysis of water. Embrittling procedures such as acid pickling should be avoided, as should increased contact with elements such as sulfur and phosphate. The use of proper electroplating solution and procedures can also help to prevent hydrogen embrittlement.
If the metal has not yet started to crack, hydrogen embrittlement can be reversed by removing the hydrogen source and causing the hydrogen within the metal to diffuse out through heat treatment. This de-embrittlement process, known as "baking", is used to overcome the weaknesses of methods such as electroplating which introduce hydrogen to the metal, but is not always entirely effective because a sufficient time and temperature must be reached. Tests such as ASTM F1624 can be used to rapidly identify the minimum baking time. Then the same test can be used as a quality control check to evaluate if baking was sufficient on a per-batch basis.
In the case of welding, often pre-heating and post-heating the metal is applied to allow the hydrogen to diffuse out before it can cause any damage. This is specifically done with high-strength steels and low alloy steels such as the chrome/molybdenum/vanadium alloys. Due to the time needed to re-combine hydrogen atoms into the hydrogen molecules, hydrogen cracking due to welding can occur over 24 hours after the welding operation is completed.
Another way of preventing this problem is through materials selection. This will build an inherent resistance to this process and reduce the need of post processing or constant monitoring for failure. Certain metals or alloys are highly susceptible to this issue so choosing a material that is minimally affected while retaining the desired properties would also provide an optimal solution. Much research has been done to catalog the compatibility of certain metals with hydrogen.
Tests such as ASTM F1624 can also be used to rank alloys and coatings during materials selection to ensure that the threshold of cracking is below the threshold for hydrogen-assisted stress corrosion cracking. Similar tests can also be used during quality control to more effectively qualify materials being produced in a rapid and comparable manner.

Testing

Most analytical methods for hydrogen embrittlement involve evaluating the effects of internal hydrogen from production and/or external sources of hydrogen such as cathodic protection. For steels, it is important to test specimens in the lab that are at least as hard than the final parts will be. Ideally, specimens should be made of the final material or the nearest possible representative, as fabrication can have a profound impact on resistance to hydrogen-assisted cracking.
There are numerous ASTM standards for testing for hydrogen embrittlement:
There are many other related standards for hydrogen embrittlement: