Experimental and numerical investigations of hydrogen effects on mechanical properties and fatigue behavior of high strength steel

The sensitivity to hydrogen embrittlement of S690QL steels is studied by local approach to fracture. Fatigue tests in air and in saline solution under cathodic protection are performed on micro-notched specimens. Crack is monitored by direct current potential drop method. The mechanical response of the material at the notch-tip is simulated by finite elements calculations. Fatigue mechanisms are investigated by a decomposition method of the flow stress to extract internal stress and the thermal and athermal components of the effective stress. Hydrogen effects on these stresses are also studied. Hydrogen trapping in the microstructure is investigated using electrochemical permeation tests and thermal desorption spectrometry. A phenomenological model is developed thanks to experimental results. This model is able to simulate the local hydrogen concentration in samples with complex geometry. Our results show that crack initiation is highly dependent on the plastic strain accumulation. For fatigue tests on micro-notched specimens, hydrogen trapping in dislocations elastic field is the predominant phenomena in the embrittlement mechanism. For smooth specimens under low cycle fatigue testing, hydrogen trapping in dislocations cells walls is significant and crack initiation is probably localized in this microstructural defect. Both components of the effective stress are also influenced by hydrogen. (author)