Effect of Acidizing Process on the Stress Corrosion Cracking of HP-13Cr Stainless Steel in the Ultra-depth Well Environment

The effect of acidizing process on the stress corrosion cracking of HP-13Cr stainless steel in the ultra-depth well environment was studied by the slow strain rate test, the electrochemical measurement, the microstructure observation, and the finite element modeling. The results indicated that the acidizing process significantly increased the stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of HP-13Cr stainless steel and induced the fracture mode to the brittle characteristic in the high temperature and CO2 pressure environment. The stress corrosion cracking susceptibility also increased with the increase of temperature and CO2 pressure. There were dense defects including pits and cracks in the fracture section from the transverse view. After the acidizing process, under tensile stress condition, the increasing roughness will cause the stress concentration and promote the local anodic dissolution, which induces the initiation of stress corrosion cracking.

Stress corrosion cracking of A517 steel in marine environments

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop the existence and mechanism of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) for A517 steel in marine environments. Design/methodology/approach Slow strain rate test (SSRT) and constant load tests were used to investigate the SCC susceptibility of A517 steel. In addition, the additive stresses caused by the corrosion film and hydrogen entering into steel were applied to reveal the fundamental mechanism of the SCC. Findings The SCC susceptibility increased due to anodic dissolution and additive stress caused by the corrosion-produced film under anode polarization. Furthermore, the SCC susceptibility increased with increasing cathodic polarization, which is due to the increased additional stress caused by hydrogen entering into the steel. However, when the cathode polarization further increased, the additional stress remained due to the constant hydrogen content, thus the SCC susceptibility did not vary. Moreover, the SCC susceptibility of A517 steel under an alternate immersion environment (AIE) was lower than that under a full immersion environment and the steel under the AIE with 0.5 W/D had the lowest SCC susceptibility. Originality/value The stress corrosion behaviors of A517 in marine environments under various conditions were systematically analyzed.

Analysis of Hydrogen Embrittlement on Aluminum Alloys for Vehicle-Mounted Hydrogen Storage Tanks: A Review

High-pressure hydrogen tanks which are composed of an aluminum alloy liner and a carbon fiber wound layer are currently the most popular means to store hydrogen on vehicles. Nevertheless, the aluminum alloy is easily affected by high-pressure hydrogen, which leads to the appearance of hydrogen embrittlement (HE). Serious HE of hydrogen tank represents a huge dangers to the safety of vehicles and passengers. It is critical and timely to outline the mainstream approach and point out potential avenues for further investigation of HE. An analysis, including the mechanism (including hydrogen-enhanced local plasticity model, hydrogen-enhanced decohesion mechanism and hydrogen pressure theory), the detection (including slow strain rate test, linearly increasing stress test and so on) and methods for the prevention of HE on aluminum alloys of hydrogen vehicles (such as coating) are systematically presented in this work. Moreover, the entire experimental detection procedures for HE are expounded. Ultimately, the prevention measures are discussed in detail. It is believed that further prevention measures will rely on the integration of multiple prevention methods. Successfully solving this problem is of great significance to reduce the risk of failure of hydrogen storage tanks and improve the reliability of aluminum alloys for engineering applications in various industries including automotive and aerospace.

Cold Cracks in Fillet Weldments of 600 MPa Tensile Strength Low Carbon Steel and Microstructural Effects on Hydrogen Embrittlement Sensitivity and Hydrogen Diffusion

Hydrogen flowing into a weld causes hydrogen embrittlement (HE), so to prevent cold cracks in the weld, HE must be suppressed. In this study, single-pass fillet weldments were fabricated using two different welding fillers with the same strength level as the American Welding Society standard. The specimen F-HNi, which had a high, reversible hydrogen content, exhibited cold cracking in the fillet weld. The HE sensitivity index (HE index) was calculated using the in-situ slow strain rate test (SSRT). The reversible hydrogen trap concentration (<i>Crev</i>) and hydrogen diffusion coefficient (<i>Deff</i>) were calculated using the permeation test. The formation of low-temperature transformation phases such as bainite and martensite increased the <i>Crev</i> and decreased the <i>Deff</i>, thereby increasing the HE index. In addition, it was determined that reversible hydrogen was most effectively trapped in the low-temperature transformation phase, as confirmed by silver decoration. We concluded that the cold cracks in the F-HNi specimen were associated with the large <i>Crev</i>, small <i>Deff</i>, and large HE index. HE sensitivity can be controlled by optimizing the microstructure, even when welding fillers with the same level of strength are used. To reduce HE sensitivity, it is important to reduce the number of reversible hydrogen trap sites, by reducing the fraction of the low-temperature transformation phase where the reversible hydrogen trapping most occurs.

Critical Assessment of the Effect of Atmospheric Corrosion Induced Hydrogen on Mechanical Properties of Advanced High Strength Steel

Hydrogen absorption into steel during atmospheric corrosion has been of a strong concern during last decades. It is technically important to investigate if hydrogen absorbed under atmospheric exposure conditions can significantly affect mechanical properties of steels. The present work studies changes of mechanical properties of dual phase (DP) advanced high strength steel specimens with sodium chloride deposits during corrosion in humid air using Slow Strain Rate Test (SSRT). Additional annealed specimens were used as reference in order to separate the possible effect of absorbed hydrogen from that of corrosion deterioration. Hydrogen entry was monitored in parallel experiments using hydrogen electric resistance sensor (HERS) and thermal desorption mass spectrometry (TDMS). SSRT results showed a drop in elongation and tensile strength by 42% and 6%, respectively, in 27 days of atmospheric exposure. However, this decrease cannot be attributed to the effect of absorbed hydrogen despite the increase in hydrogen content with time of exposure. Cross-cut analysis revealed considerable pitting, which was suggested to be the main reason for the degradation of mechanical properties.

Graded Grain Structure to Improve Hydrogen-Embrittlement Resistance of TWIP Steel

The high strength of twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steels makes them vulnerable to the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) phenomenon, thereby limiting their potential applications. This study suggests inducing a graded grain structure (GGS) in a Fe-17Mn-0.8C TWIP steel through shot peening and subsequent heat treatment to solve the problem. The microstructures and fracture surfaces of GGS TWIP steel were compared with those of conventionally manufactured TWIP steel possessing a uniform grain structure (UGS). Compared with the conventional UGS TWIP steel, GGS steel showed similar tensile properties with a yield strength of 310 MPa, tensile strength of 1060 MPa, and elongation-to-failure of 135%. It also exhibited moderately enhanced low-cycle fatigue (LCF) resistance in terms of fatigue life (8196 cycles to failure) compared with the UGS steel (7201 cycles). Furthermore, GGS TWIP steel exhibited a marked improvement in HE resistance, both in the monotonic (by a slow-strain-rate test) and cyclic deformation modes (by the LCF test) in a hydrogen environment. A relatively fine-grained (d = 15.6 μm) surficial area enhanced the HE resistance by inhibiting hydrogen penetration and decreasing twin density, while the coarse-grained (d = 74.6 μm) interior promoted the LCF resistance by suppressing crack growth.

Ethanolic Media Effect on the Susceptibility to Stress Corrosion Cracking in an X-70 Microalloyed Steel with Different Aging Treatments

The objective of this research was to evaluate the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of X-70 micro-alloyed steel in contact with bio-ethanol and E-50 gasohol. Environmental factors, including water (1%, 3% and 5%) and NaCl (10 mg/L and 32 mg/L), as well as two aging treatments were studied. Experimental values were obtained by the Slow Strain Rate Test (SSRT) technique, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and tensile test according to the information reported in the literature. The results of the SSRT for the SCC determination showed that this steel in these conditions did not show evidence of SCC, which was attributed to the formation of an oxide (Fe2O3) not soluble in ethanol. The oxide layer acts as a protector preventing the formation of pitting, one of the main causes of cracks initiation in SCC.

Corrosion Study of Pipeline Steel under Stress at Different Cathodic Potentials by EIS

The effect of different cathodic potentials applied to the X70 pipeline steel immersed in acidified and aerated synthetic soil solution under stress using a slow strain rate test (SSRT) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was studied. According to SSRT results and the fracture surface analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the steel susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) increased as the cathodic polarization increased (Ecp). This behavior is attributed to the anodic dissolution at the tip of the crack and the increment of the cathodic reaction (hydrogen evolution) producing hydrogen embrittlement. Nevertheless, when the Ecp was subjected to the maximum cathodic potential applied (−970 mV), the susceptibility decreased; this behavior is attributed to the fact that the anodic dissolution was suppressed and the process of the SCC was dominated only by hydrogen embrittlement (HE). The EIS results showed that the cathodic process was influenced by the mass transport (hydrogen diffusion) due to the steel undergoing so many changes in the metallic surface as a result of the applied strain that it generated active sites at the surface.

The Characterization of Stress Corrosion Cracking in the AE44 Magnesium Casting Alloy Using Quantitative Fractography Methods

In this work an assessment of the susceptibility of the AE44 magnesium alloy to stress corrosion cracking in a 0.1M Na2SO4 environment is presented. The basic assumed criterion for assessing the alloy behavior under complex mechanical and corrosive loads is deterioration in mechanical properties (elongation, reduction in area, tensile strength and time to failure). The AE44 magnesium alloy was subjected to the slow strain rate test (SSR) in air and in a corrosive environment under open circuit potential (OCP) conditions. In each variant, the content of hydrogen in the alloy was determined. The obtained fractures were subjected to a quantitative evaluation by original fractography methods. It was found that under stress corrosion cracking (SCC) conditions and in the presence of hydrogen the mechanical properties of AE44 deteriorated. The change in the mechanical properties under SCC conditions in a corrosive environment was accompanied by the presence of numerous cracks, both on fracture surfaces and in the alloy microstructure. The developed method for the quantitative evaluation of cracks on the fracture surface turned out to be a more sensitive method, enabling the assessment of the susceptibility of AE44 under complex mechanical and corrosive loads in comparison with deterioration in mechanical properties. Mechanical tests showed a decrease in properties after SSRT tests in corrosive environments (UTS ≈ 153 MPa, ε = 11.2%, Z = 4.0%) compared to the properties after air tests (UTS ≈ 166 MPa, ε = 11.9%, Z = 7.8%) but it was not as visible as the results of quantitative assessment of cracks at fractures (number of cracks, length of cracks): after tests in corrosive environment (900; 21.3 μm), after tests in air (141; 34.5 μm). These results indicate that the proposed new proprietary test methodology can be used to quantify the SSC phenomenon in cases of slight changes in mechanical properties after SSRT tests in a corrosive environment in relation to the test results in air.