A study of hydrogen embrittlement (HE) on tempered carbon steel.

Abstract

The influence of tempering temperature and environment on hydrogen embrittlement (HE) behavior of low carbon steel has men investigated. A range of tempered conditions was examined in air and exposed to corrosive media for observing the behavior of HE attack. Scanning electron microscopy technique has been used to examine the fracture mode associated with HE. It was revealed that the HE attack is more pronounced in specimens tempered at low temperature with the production of brittle fracture. The features indicating hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) on the fracture morphology, that is, micropores and ductile hairlines are also evident. The present results also showed that there is a strong link between temper embrittlement and hydrogen embrittlement in that changes in tempering treatment can give large varieties of HE resistance.