Methods for evaluation of hydrogen effect on service behaviour of titanium base alloys

A comparative evaluation of the effect of hydrogen upon the service ability of α, β, α+β and pseudo-α titanium alloys is carried out using the results of various mechanical tests. Presented are the values of the critical concentration of hydrogen, determined by impact strength tests, tensile tests of notched specimens, fracture toughness tests, slow failure tests and the determination of the energy of failure. A hypothesis is advanced that the failure energy of titanium alloys depends directly upon the type of stressed state. This hypothesis explains the S shapes of the curves describing the dependences of the impact strength, the coefficient of stress intensity and the ratios of the tensile strength of smooth and notched specimens upon the hydrogen content