Hydrogen charging process instrument

Highlights: • The developed instrument is effective tool for H-charging of metallic materials. • The H-charging process can be optimized depending on the specimen material. • In-situ hydrogen charging during tensile testing can be performed. - Abstract: Economically attractive and safe process instrument for hydrogen charging from glow discharge plasma was developed. The unique shape of the ionizer allows to restrict the plasma dispersion and focus it on the sample. The instrument can be combined with a loading device for in-situ hydrogen charging during tensile testing and heating to an elevated temperature. Successful results of hydrogen charging were obtained for ODS-EUROFER steel, which is one of the most promising structural materials for fusion reactors and Gen-IV nuclear reactors. The suitable parameters of hydrogen charging were found experimentally. The plasma exposure time for homogenization of hydrogen concentration in the certain shape of the specimen of the ODS-EUROFER steel was determined to be more than 30 min. Comparative study of the surface morphology of the specimens before and after hydrogen plasma charging was performed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM).