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Mechanism of the Interaction Between Hydrogen, Microstructure, and Mechanical Properties in Low-Alloy High-Strength Marine Steel

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Abstract

Herein, the interaction between hydrogen, microstructure, and mechanical properties in low-alloy high-strength marine steel was elucidated via microstructural characterization, internal friction analysis, hydrogen diffusion, and hydrogen-embrittlement sensitivity evaluation. Results indicated that the bainite structure of hot-rolled steel transformed into a coarse ferrite–pearlite structure after normalizing, and the hydrogen trap density decreased with decreasing grain boundary and dislocation densities. Therefore, the effective diffusion coefficient of hydrogen in the normalized steel plates increased with decreasing hydrogen permeation time. Owing to the coarsening of the microstructure, the normalized steel plates exhibited higher sensitivity to hydrogen embrittlement. The diffusion of a large amount of hydrogen into the steel considerably deteriorated its plasticity, resulting in a transition of its fracture mode from microvoid coalescence fracture to cleavage fracture. The internal friction behavior indicated that hydrogen in the microstructure generated a hydrogen-induced Snoek peak, as well as reduced the activation energy of Snoek–Kê–Köster and Kê peaks. Finally, the internal friction spectra revealed that the interaction between hydrogen and point defects, dislocations, grain boundaries, and precipitates was sequentially enhanced due to the increase in activation energy.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52074152, 52204346), Joint Foundation of University of Science and Technology Liaoning and State Key Laboratory of metal materials for marine equipment and application (Grant No. HGSKL-USTLN(2022)03).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials and Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Liaoning, Anshan, 114051, China

    Dazheng Zhang, Liyan Fu & Weijuan Li

  2. State Key Laboratory of Metal Material for Marine Equipment and Application, Anshan, 114009, China

    Dazheng Zhang, Boyong Li, Guanglong Li & Ling Yan

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Zhang, D., Li, B., Fu, L. et al. Mechanism of the Interaction Between Hydrogen, Microstructure, and Mechanical Properties in Low-Alloy High-Strength Marine Steel. J. of Materi Eng and Perform (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-023-08637-3

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